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Tournament Stats:
AT&T National
June 30 - July 3, 2011
Aronimink Golf Club
Newtown Square, Pa.
Par: 70 / Yardage: 7,237 yards
Purse: $6.2 million with $1,116,000 million going to the winner
Defending Champions: Justin Rose
Results & Scores 2010 AT&T National
Box Score of 2010 AT&T National
Tournament facts:
Tournament Record:267 (Tiger Woods in 2009 AT&T National)
54-Hole Record:
200 (Justin Rose in 2010, Tiger Woods in 2009, Anthony Kim in 2009 & Tom Pernice in 2008 AT&T National)
36-Hole Record:
130 (Tiger Woods in 2009 AT&T National)
Low round of tournament:
62 (Anthony Kim in the first round; Hunter Mahan in the final round of the 2009 AT&T National)
Tournament information:
At the start of the 2007 PGA season, it appeared that The International, the PGA's lone stop in Colorado, would be gearing up to host its 21st annual golf tournament. However, doubts began to arise about the tournament's future very early on in the season as the search for a corporate sponsor was at a stand-still. On February 8, 2007, tournament director Greg Vickers announced that the 2007 International would not be played, primarily due to the lack of corporate sponsorship.As soon as the date opened up on the PGA Tour calendar, Tiger Woods, who has expressed a desire to host a tournament in the past, entered into discussions with the PGA Tour. His goal was to create an exclusive tournament that would not only fill this year's void left by the demise of The International, but for years to come. On March 7, with less than one month of negotiations behind the two parties, Tiger Woods and the PGA Tour announced that the Washington D.C. area would play host to the Inaugural AT&T National. The event took over for the Booz Allen Classic which folded after the July 2006 event after a 39 year run with 27 of those in the Washington D.C. area. The 2007 event was played at The Congressional Country Club in nearby Bethesda, MD.
Despite the short time in getting it ready, the first year went off well and it looked like the future of this event was going to be great. Unfortunely things changed the following year as Tiger Woods had surgery right before the event and was not only able to play but he couldn't even attend the event. He did return the next year and won.
The event had a great run at Congressional and with it holding the U.S. Open in 2011 it needed to rebuild it's greens. So the AT&T National moved last year to allow Congressional to get ready for the Open and also this year while holding the U.S. Open. It moved to the Philadelphia area and Aronimink, one of golf's hidden gems. The tournament is then contracted to come back to Congressional next for three years.
Course information:
Aronimink is one of those hidden gems which on a couple of weeks notice could hold a major championship on it. The club has hosted the 1962 PGA Championship, the 1977 U.S. Amateur and the 2003 Senior PGA Championship.
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The club got it's roots in 1897 as the Belmont Golf Association and was one of the four founding members of the Golf Association of Philadephia. The Club's first professional was John Shippen, who as a half black, half Shinnecock Indian was in contention in the 1896 U.S. Open. The club also hired a kid called Johnny McDermott as a caddy, the kid went on to win the 1911 and '12 U.S. Open.
The club moved to a couple of different spots and in 1926 purchased 300 acres of land and brought in Donald Ross to build them a new course. Folklore had it that Ross was not very happy that another Philadelphia club rejected his design and so he wanted to make Aronimink the best course in the area. The course opened in 1928 to great acclaim and even Ross didn't realize it's greatness until a visit back in 1948 when right before his death he came back and said that he did build a masterpiece.
Over the years other architects like A.W. Tillinghast, Dick Wilson and Robert Trent Jones tinkered with the course, but overall the original Ross design stayed in tack. At the end of the millennium club officials realized the mistakes that were made by others tinkering with the course and decided to hire Ron Prichard, who was a Ross disciple, to completely restore the course to it's original 1927 design. He finished his work in 2002 before the Senior PGA Championship.
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With 75 bunkers and numerous slopes, valleys and doglegs, the course tests a player's patience and endurance. Ross meant Aronimink to be a "supreme test" for the best golfers. From the championship tees Aronimink's course is 7,237 yards long and plays to a par of 70. With the restoration in 2002, Donald Ross' Aronimink plays as he intended it to. As he said in 1948, two decades after the course opened, "I intended to make this my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize I built better than I knew."
Aronimink's opening hole is one of the most memorable in golf. The intimidating first hole plunges down into a valley, then rises steeply, playing long and uphill to a well-guarded undulating green.
On the front nine there are a number of challenging doglegs, particularly the par four #7. Although not a long hole, the approach must carry a yawning bunker guarding the front of a green with several difficult pin locations. Then there is #8, perhaps the hardest par three on the course, playing 237 yards downhill to a narrow green bisected by a large mound.
The back nine Aronimink is just as demanding with a great tenth hole, a 454-yard par four that is considered by many the most demanding on the course. The narrow fairway is guarded by a bunker on the right and deep rough on the left. A successful approach shot must avoid the water hazard protecting the front left of the sharply terraced green.
In 2003 John Jacobs birdied the last two holes to win the Senior PGA Championship. The 17th is a 187-yard par three. An errant tee shot often finds the lake guarding the green. The finishing hole is a 436-yard uphill par four, requires a precise tee shot and the approach shot is to a winding and sloped green with a numerous challenging pin locations.
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Many may wonder why it took so long for the PGA Tour to return to Aronimink? The club has been in the wrong place at the wrong time with wrong policies on minority memberships. It first gain notoriety holding the 1962 PGA, it was a last minute replacement for Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles when California Attorney General Stanley Mosk filed a lawsuit because Charlie Sifford sent a letter making Mosk aware that the PGA wouldn't allow him to play. When it become knowledge that the PGA would be sued in California for there actions, they moved the event to Aronomink. One good outcome of all this, three months later and just before the event the PGA of America threw out their "Caucasians only" clause that wouldn't allow blacks to play.
Unfortunely Aronimink was back in the news 30 years later as the issue of race and golf surfaced. Aronimink was to host the 1993 PGA and after the Shoal Creak debacle, wasn't able to adhere to new minority-membership requirements and the event was given to another club. Since them things have been worked out and the club has multiple minority and female members.
Last year showed the popular Aronimink and how it can be a regular on the PGA Tour. It's a lot like other hidden gems Pinehurst, Quail Hollow and Bethpage, having a big tournament in which players talk about it's greatness has a lasting effect. Now the AT&T National is just a short term solution, but this won't be the last time a PGA Tour event is played on this course. Right now Congressional is signed up for three years but rumors are surfacing that Congressional would like to get out of the contract so you never know Aronimink could be the future of this event very soon.
The Buzz:
So Tiger has talked but again he really didn't say anything. Woods has the knack of avoiding anything in which he has to give a yes and no answer and he did it by saying that he wasn't if he was playing in the British Open. Doesn't matter that the event is just 16 days away, he wouldn't give anything other than he was playing it by ear. Gosh Tiger, frustrate your fans and media even more with such a great answer. Frankly he is avoiding what the answer is going to be that he won't be going. Look for the answer to come down Tuesday and Wednesday on his favorite vehicle of telling news, the internet.Tiger will never learn that he is still big and has to give back. Fans really don't want to hear that it's up in the air. He hasn't hit a ball since the Players (yes he has putted) and frankly things were in terrible shape after the Masters and at the Players. If he does show up and try to play with very little practice it will again be an embarrassing moment for the man who says all the time that he will only play if he thinks he can win. Come on Tiger, you think that you can win in the coming weeks? If you think so, I have some swamp land that I can sell you.
Have to say that this event has lost a lot of the luster that it had in 2007. If you had to stick a finger as the biggest problem it's probably the date. With it being fourth of July weekend and lot of players want to spend time at home with the family. Also we are about to start of ten week stretch in which two majors, one WGC event and four FedEx Cup playoffs are about to be played. Players have to take some time off so this is a good time.
Frankly I would really like a new feel to the FedEx Cup playoffs. Right now we will see not only the Barclays but the BMW changing venues, why not change events. Why can't the AT&T National be a FedEx Cup playoff event one out of every four years? Why can't the tour switch these events around, make Barclay's a regular event and move it to this date. Just a thought to spread the wealth around a bit.
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Here are some things to look for this week:
Here are some of the secrets that it will take to play well this week at the AT&T National:
Photo: ©Scott Halleran/Getty ImagesThe 18th green and the clubhouse of Aronimink Golf Club, site of this week's AT&T National. Key stat for the winner:
This course is one of those gems that players like Tiger, Phil, Rory and Lee should enjoy. Only problem, the best aren't playing this week which is a shame because this golf course is really great. It takes a lot of good shotmaking and maneuvering of the ball to play well at Aronimink. It's one of those courses that you have to think each shot out and make sure like a chess game that your a move ahead of things. Placement off the tee is very important, the rough it deep and penalizing. The same on the greens, you have to place them on the right side of the putting surface and if you miss the greens look for a tough shot either from greenside rough or deep bunkers. On most courses, bunkers are players friends, something that is easy to get out of, but that isn't the case at Aronimink, the bunkers are deep and very difficult to get the ball close.If you want to see who can win, just look at the winners at courses like Quail Hollow, Muirfield Village, Congressional, Westchester C.C. or even a modern course like Bay Hill. I would almost bet the farm that whoever wins this week, will also have a title from one of those courses, just like Justin Rose had last year.
- Experience at Aronimink will be a big help, look for players that have been in this event the last two years to do well.
- Hitting greens will be at a premium, just like in a U.S. Open hitting lots of greens goes a long way in this event. Look for the winner to hit globs of greens this week.
- Look for good putters to have a significant advantage because Aronimink's undulated greens should be dried out with no significant rain in the forecast.
- Also the winner will be a good scrambler. It's going to be impossible to hit every green and for those that can get it up and down, they will be rewarded.