- AT&T National
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AT&T National 
Tournament information Location Bethesda, Maryland Established 2007 Course(s) Congressional Country Club (2007–09, 2012–14)
Aronimink Golf Club (2010–11)Par 70 Length 7,237 yards Tour(s) PGA Tour Format Stroke play Prize fund $6,200,000 Month played July Tournament record score Aggregate 267 Tiger Woods (2009)
267 Nick Watney (2011)To par -13 Tiger Woods (2009)
-13 Nick Watney (2011)Current champion 
Nick WatneyThe AT&T National is a professional golf tournament held in the Washington D.C. area during the Fourth of July weekend. The PGA Tour event is hosted by Tiger Woods and benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. The first AT&T National was held July 5–8, 2007, at the Blue Course of the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. The event returned to Congressional in 2008 and 2009 and has been held midway between the U.S. Open and the British Open to ensure a strong field of competitors.
Nick Watney is the defending champion, winning in 2011 with a score of −13.
The event was officially announced on March 7, 2007, to replace The International, which tour officials had abruptly cancelled on February 8, 2007.[1] The AT&T National does not use the Modified Stableford scoring system used by The International in Colorado.[2]
The D.C. area hosted a regular tour event for over a quarter century. The Booz Allen Classic arrived in 1980 but was terminated after the 2006 event. Originally named the Kemper Open, it was played at Congressional from 1980–86, then moved to the nearby TPC at Avenel in 1987. Congressional hosted the tournament in 2005, while Avenel was undergoing renovations.
Congressional originally agreed to host the event for the first two years, and after opting out of hosting the 2009 U.S. Amateur, agreed to host the event in 2009 as well.[3][4] The Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania hosted the 2010 and 2011 events, due to Congressional being reconfigured for the 2011 U.S. Open.[5] The tournament is scheduled to return to Congressional from 2012 to 2014.[6]
Other courses that were originally considered for the new tournament were in the Kansas City, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and Portland areas. Possible sites for the 2010 and 2011 events were the TPC at Avenel in neighboring Potomac (former site of the Booz Allen Classic) and Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, (four-time host of the Presidents Cup).[7][8]
CBS and the Golf Channel carry the AT&T National, which is the third event on the PGA Tour to be sponsored by the telecommunications giant. The others are the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the AT&T Classic (formerly the BellSouth Classic).[1]
Contents
Invitational status
The AT&T National is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the PGA Tour,[9] and consequently it has a reduced field of only 120 players (as opposed to most full-field open tournaments with a field of 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Verizon Heritage, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and the Memorial Tournament. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 120 and 132 players), and have more freedom than full-field open tournaments in determining which players are eligible to participate in their event, as invitational tournaments are not required to fill their fields using the PGA Tour Priority Ranking System. Furthermore, unlike full-field open tournaments, invitational tournaments do not offer open qualifying (aka Monday qualifying).
Winners
Woods at the 2009 AT&T National
Year Player Country Score Earnings ($) Host club 2011 Nick Watney United States70-69-62-66=267 (−13) 1,116,000 Aronimink Golf Club 2010 Justin Rose 
England69-64-67-70=270 (−10) 1,116,000 Aronimink Golf Club 2009 Tiger Woods United States64-66-70-67=267 (−13) 1,080,000 Congressional Country Club 2008 Anthony Kim United States67-67-69-65=268 (−12) 1,080,000 Congressional Country Club 2007 K. J. Choi 
South Korea66-67-70-68=271 (−9) 1,080,000 Congressional Country Club References
- ^ a b "Host course not chosen yet for AT&T National". Associated Press. 2007-03-07. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2790636.
- ^ Hewitt, Brian (2007-02-27). "Air Force Base a Remote Possibility for D.C. Event". Golf Channel. http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=15100&select=21866.
- ^ "Congressional will host Tiger, AT&T National". Associated Press. 2007-04-06. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2828393.
- ^ "Tiger Woods and AT&T National to Return to Congressional Country Club in 2009". AT&T National. http://www.attnational.org/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=534776.
- ^ Woods' tournament moving to Philly area for 2010–11
- ^ Svrluga, Barry (2009-07-01). "As host of the AT&T National, Tiger Woods is busy this week – but he expects to win". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR2009063002191.html. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ^ "On Golf: AT&T at Aronimink in '11?". Philadelphia Inquirer. 2008-03-02. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20080302_On_Golf___AT_T_at_Aronimink_in_11_.html.
- ^ "Woods expects to play at Open". Daily News Wire Services. 2008-05-28. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20080528_Woods_expects_to_play_at_Open.html.
- ^ http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1604531,00.html
External links
- Official website
- PGA Tour.com – AT&T National
Tiger Woods Family Golf achievements Foundation Tiger Woods Design Other ventures Categories:- PGA Tour events
- Golf in Maryland
- Golf in Pennsylvania
- Recurring sporting events established in 2007
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
