Congressional preps for Tiger, Tour

‘‘We’re pretty much booked through 2011,” Long said in a press release made available on AT&T’s Web site, www.att.com.

The announcement comes a little over a month since Woods came to Washington, D.C to announce that he was bringing a PGA Tour event back to the area. From 1980-2006, Montgomery County was home to what came to be known as the Booz Allen Classic (2004-06) — also named the Kemper Open (1980-2002) and the FBR Capital Classic (2003) — until conflicts over sponsorship, scheduling and an inability to attract top-flight players led to its removal from the Tour calendar. When the same fate struck the International Tournament, based in the Denver area, before the start of this season, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem moved quickly, bringing together AT&T to sponsor the tournament, and the Tiger Woods Foundation, which will run it and be its main charitable beneficiary. Those factors helped push Congressional’s membership towards this decision.

‘‘Congressional Country Club was delighted to be asked to host the inaugural AT&T National,” Long said. ‘‘It is a real boon to the greater Washington Metropolitan area that the PGA Tour is returning and that Tiger Woods is considering this area for another Tiger Woods Learning Center. I believe that the combination of a fine sponsor such as AT&T along with the opportunities provided so many young people through the Tiger Woods Foundation led our members to such a positive conclusion.”

However, what also helped was the lobbying that Woods, among others, made for the Bethesda club, which was the site of the 1997 U.S. Open. When Woods and Finchem announced the creation of the tournament in March, they did so without a place to play it, but openly courted Congressional. Speaking about the course, Woods called it a ‘‘thorough test,” and then heaped on more superlatives about Congressional’s famed Blue Course.

‘‘It is not only one the finest courses in the Unites States, but around the world,” Woods said. ‘‘The first time I played there [in the U.S. Open in 1997] it kicked my butt pretty good.” Woods finished in 19th place.

Now that the decision, which never seemed to be in doubt, has been ratified, Congressional must prepare itself for the arrival of 120 of the world’s best golfers in less than three months. However, the club has extensive experience hosting events — it last hosted the Booz Allen Classic in 2005 — and should be in shape to play host to Woods and his colleagues by then.

‘‘We have plenty of time,” said Congressional’s General Manager, Michael Leemhuis. ‘‘We try to keep the course close to tournament ready for our members in terms of the speed of the greens and the length of the rough. We have a little bit more to go to make it [suitable for the AT&T National], but we are already about 95 percent there.”

The search for a permanent home for the AT&T National after 2008 is still ongoing. The TPC Avenel in Potomac, which is owned by the PGA Tour, was criticized by players when it was the longtime home to the Booz Allen Classic and its predecessors (1987-2004, 2006). And, it is undergoing extensive renovations to the course and clubhouse that are scheduled to be finished by 2008. Another possibility may be the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., which has been the host of the President’s Cup. However, for now, the AT&T National is pleased where it is.

‘‘Congressional Country Club is a wonderful site to launch the AT&T National,” Finchem said. ‘‘It’s a classic venue that presents a tremendous test for the world’s best players ... we’re grateful to Congressional’s membership for this outstanding show of support over the next two years.”