AT& T Tournament May Go Out of Area

Alternate Course Necessary for 2010-11

Now that the second AT&T National has ended with rising star Anthony Kim prevailing on a world-class golf course, tournament director Greg McLaughlin said yesterday that he will immediately focus on finding a new venue, likely in another market, for the fourth and fifth annual tournaments in 2010 and 2011.

Tiger Woods's signature event will return to Congressional for a third straight year in 2009 and McLaughlin said he hopes to find a market and a suitable golf course for 2010 and 2011 by the end of October. Congressional will not be available those two years because the club will be renovating all 18 greens in 2010 in preparation for holding the U.S. Open at the Bethesda course in 2011.

Congressional members also will vote later this month on whether to accept the recommendation of its board of directors to keep the tournament at the club from 2012 through 2017. Members have overwhelmingly supported the tournament in two previous votes, and club sources indicated over the weekend they would be stunned if members didn't continue their relationship with a tournament hosted by the No. 1 player in the world.

McLaughlin said yesterday that there had been some thought to playing the event in 2010 at the nearby TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, now undergoing a $25 million course and clubhouse renovation. But PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem said last week he did not think that course would be ready for a professional event by 2010, and McLaughlin said he will turn his attention elsewhere, most likely outside of the Washington area.

"I'd have to say we're looking outside the market in 2010 and 2011, that's the current thinking," McLaughlin said yesterday. "That being said, we have nothing confirmed. We'll look at one year or both years at the same place. But having it both years in the same place has a lot of attraction for us. And if we can find a suitable course in this market for 2010, that still may also be a possibility."

McLaughlin confirmed that Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia is one of the prime venues now under consideration. He also indicated he's looked as far away as Portland, Ore., and Seattle as possible temporary sites, but that Baltimore, St. Louis and Minneapolis probably would make more sense.

"We want to go to a place where there's a course that's close to as strong as we've got here at Congressional," he said. "It's something we have to do to make sure we continue to attract the best players. If a guy takes you off his schedule, it's hard to get them back."

The 2008 field without Woods, recovering from knee surgery on June 24, was not particularly strong, especially without highly ranked players such as Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and Zach Johnson -- all of whom had previously committed but were forced to pull out with injuries. McLaughlin said it was not Woods's style to blatantly recruit players to come to his tournament, but that in time "as he assumes a more elder statesman role" that may well happen.

Despite the dearth of marquee names this week, and a significant drop in attendance by about 32,000 from the inaugural event in 2007, McLaughlin said he and club officials were "ecstatic with the final product. The champion, Anthony Kim, is truly a rising star and we couldn't have had a better outcome.

"The weather obviously was the biggest factor in attendance," he said. "Earlier in the week, we were barely off, but there was a bad threat of thunderstorms starting Friday through Sunday, and people were concerned about going outside in that kind of weather. It kept a lot of people away."

McLaughlin said players kept telling him how much they liked the immaculate condition of the golf course and the setup, including a far less forgiving rough and smoother rolling than what they encountered in 2007.

"At the end of the day, the winning score [12-under-par 268] was only three more shots lower than last year, and that's with softer, more receptive greens," he said. "I thought the golf course was perfect, and most players also said it was a very hard golf course. If the tour had wanted even par to win the tournament, it could have been set up that way, but that's not their model. It won't take much for the U.S. Golf Association to set it up for even par scores at the Open."

Though Woods was not present for the tournament because of his recent surgery, McLaughlin said he spoke to him "eight times both on Friday and Saturday, and that's not counting a lot of texting back and forth. He was very involved every day. He was fine with starting the final round early to beat the weather, he definitely supported that decision, and it was the right decision. Nobody wanted to come back Monday."