Tiger's Neck

Tiger got a little good news yesterday. He doesn't have a bulging disc in his neck. Just some joint swelling. Sounds like some rest and PT and he will be back on the tour. That might also be good news for local golf fans. Tiger is the defending champion at the AT&T National. For the next 2 years the tournament will move from Congressional in Suburban DC to Aronimink Golf Club in Suburban Philly. This might be the best chance to see the world's best golfers in our neighborhood. Tiger--if healthy--says he will play the event after personally helping pick the Donald Ross gem as the site for the 2 years that Congressional is unavailable due to the 2011 U-S Open.

At a news conference on Monday Woods said he wishes the PGA Tour would play more classic golf courses. These days the tour plays on numerous TPC courses and frankly those courses can be a little boring. Aronimink is one of the top courses in the U-S and is a notch below just Oakmont in Pittsburgh and nearby Merion in Pennsylvania. The greens are very similar to Pinehurst #2--another Ross creation. All the greens have a crown with collection areas for miss hit balls. I got a chance to play the course before the news conference and the greens will be the biggest challenge for the pros. I hit several shots that I thought would be close to the pin only to arrive at the green and find they had rolled 50 feet past. Lots of fun. In addition all the par 3's will be stretched out over 200 yards with the monster 8th stretched to almost 250 yards--downhill over water to a 2 tiered green. The uphill par 5 9th will also be a lot of fun. It could play out at around 620 yards! With all that said I still expect the winning score to be in the high teens. Those guys are really that good.

I strongly suggest you make the drive down the Mainline to watch. This will be the first time in a decade the PGA has played in Suburban Philly. Tiger did not play the 1 time the SEI Pennsylvania Classic was played just down the road at Waynesborough Country Club.