Woods Is the Driving Force

Once the official announcement was out of the way, McLaughlin would be moving into a temporary office at TPC at Avenel. His goal was to set up shop at Congressional, which is about a mile from Avenel. Woods had played the U.S. Open at Congressional in 1997, finishing tied for 19th, and had let it be known it was his first -- and only -- choice for his tournament.

Before McLaughlin could proceed, however, he had to get the blessing of Congressional's membership.

Established in 1924 and located on River Road, Congressional has a membership of about 2,700. It includes some of the most powerful and wealthiest people in the Washington region and beyond who pay an initiation fee of upwards of $100,000 to join the club. One of the more influential members just happened to be an official at the PGA Tour.

Charlie Zink, the tour's co-chief operating officer and a non-resident member of Congressional, had spent the first two weeks in February gauging the interest of members and club officials in a new tournament. There was a catch, though: Zink wasn't allowed to tell anyone about the involvement of Woods. All he would tell them, according to several club members, was that the tournament would have a top-flight field and the backing of a corporate sponsor with deep pockets.

Congressional President Stuart Long and other club officials were intrigued.

"Stu and I probably went back and forth with about 20 phone calls," said Zink, a member of Congressional since 1980. "It was kind of a leap of faith on Congressional's part."

Long said: "I had to trust Charlie. He promised me that he wouldn't spin me on this."

Approval was expected, but not guaranteed, Long told McLaughlin, who nonetheless formulated a backup plan, which involved holding the tournament at Robert Trent Jones in Gainesville, if Congressional turned it down.

Congressional already had been awarded the U.S. Amateur in 2009 and the U.S. Open in 2011. While hosting a premier tournament adds to a club's prestige, it also inconveniences members. During a tournament of the magnitude of the AT&T National, the entire club -- including its two courses, swimming pool and tennis courts -- would be closed.

"We didn't promise them anything," Long said. "We thought we could give a good presentation to the membership. So we asked Greg to come and speak at the town hall meeting. Tiger would have, but I thought that would be overkill."

The meeting on the night of March 14 drew about 400 members to the ballroom in the clubhouse, which has floor-to-ceiling windows that open to a balcony that overlooks the 18th green of the Blue Course, Congressional's championship course.

McLaughlin showed two videos on a large screen. One was about the Tiger Woods Foundation's Learning Center in Anaheim, Calif. Woods has said he wants to open a second such center on the East Coast, possibly in the Washington area, and wants to use money generated from the tournament to build it. The other video was a highlight reel of Woods's career.