Woods May Drop By His Tourney

Tiger Woods will not play in the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club, but he still may come to the event and participate in some off-the-course events if he is physically able, according to tournament director Greg McLaughlin.

"I don't really know the status of anything yet, relative to when he is going to have his surgery," McLaughlin said yesterday. "It's just too soon to be able to tell. But he'll come and stay as long as he can if his doctors advise him that it's okay to do that."

Woods announced on Wednesday that he will undergo season-ending reconstructive surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He also must recover from two stress fractures in his left tibia.

Thomas Rosenberg, an orthopedic surgeon based in Park City, Utah, performed arthroscopic surgery on Woods's left knee to repair cartilage damage on April 15 and is expected to handle the reconstructive surgery. His office said yesterday that he was not available to comment.

McLaughlin said he still expects big crowds for the July 3-6 tournament, adding that the field is respectable and could get stronger depending on player commitments. The deadline for entering is June 27.

Several top players have expressed interest, including Phil Mickelson, the world's second-ranked golfer who played last year and missed the cut; three-time major champion Vijay Singh; and defending Masters champion Trevor Immelman.

Among big-name players not expected to play are Sergio García, who won the Booz Allen Classic at Congressional in 2005, and Ernie Els, who won the '97 Open at Congressional. Both will be out of the country.

The tournament also has granted four more sponsor's exemptions. Notah Begay, Woods's college teammate at Stanford, has been given one, along with Chris Riley, whose game has deteriorated somewhat since he played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2004.

Washington native Olin Browne, a PGA Tour veteran who attended St. Albans High School, has been granted an exemption, along with Frank Lickliter, the winner of the 2001 Kemper Open at the old TPC Avenel in Potomac.

"It's really too early to tell the full impact" of Woods's absence, McLaughlin said. "But the support to date has been excellent. We have a tremendous amount of advance sales and people are still buying tickets. The course is in better condition than it was at this time a year ago, the field is starting to shape up. Things are coming together very nicely."