The PGA Tour returns to the Washington, DC area on Thursday for the 2013 AT&T National at Congressional Country Club. It's the premier event on Tour during the stretch between the U.S. Open and the British Open, but the tournament has still failed to attract the best players, both international and American.
With the weight of Tiger Woods behind it and a major championship venue, the AT&T National still draws a quality field, but it's not in the best spot on the calendar, as many turn to British Open prep while recuperating from the U.S. Open. This week, the top three players in the world, including the host, are not playing. Tiger, however, will be on the grounds keeping up his hosting duties and presenting the trophy on Sunday.
This is a particularly brutal time of the year in the DC area, and the temperature this week should settle in the mid-to-upper 90s for much of the tournament. That's nothing new for the late-June, early-July stop at Congo, but the PGA Tour will be sending the players off well before 7 a.m. ET the first two days to move the 132-man field through the long layout in Bethesda. The first groups will be out at 6:30 a.m., with the last groups finishing up around the conclusion of the TV broadcast.
Golf Channel will have their customary coverage for the opening round on Thursday, coming on the air at 3 p.m. ET and running until 6 p.m. They will also have their pregame show a half-hour before, looking in live at the leaders and big names out on the course in the afternoon.
The afternoon coverage will feature the back-to-back marquee groups teeing off at 12:27 p.m. and 12:39 p.m. The first group is the Aussie trio of Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, and Jason Day. Scott is the highest-ranked player in the field, and probably the biggest draw after his Masters playoff win earlier this season.
Day, who's contended at the wire at the season's first two majors, has finished inside the top 10 at this event in the past and also came in second when the U.S. Open was held here two years ago. He should be considered the favorite at the start of the week.
One group after the Aussies is Hunter Mahan, Brandt Snedeker, and K.J. Choi, a former AT&T National winner. That cluster of players should be the focus of all the cameras and the galleries trudging Congressional's hilly layout in the 95-degree heat.
Here's the complete tee sheet for Thursday's first round:
Morning wave off No. 1:
Tee Time | Players | ||
06:30 a.m. | Matteson, Troy | Noh, Seung-Yul | Kohles, Ben |
06:41 a.m. | Hearn, David | Knost, Colt | Guthrie, Luke |
06:53 a.m. | Kokrak, Jason | Reed, Patrick | Hoffmann, Morgan |
07:04 a.m. | Potter, Jr., Ted | Wilson, Mark | Byrd, Jonathan |
07:16 a.m. | Huh, John | Sabbatini, Rory | Yang, Y.E. |
07:27 a.m. | English, Harris | Ernst, Derek | Haas, Bill |
07:39 a.m. | Bae, Sang-Moon | Merrick, John | Kirk, Chris |
07:50 a.m. | Appleby, Stuart | Love III, Davis | Immelman, Trevor |
08:02 a.m. | Thompson, Nicholas | Harman, Brian | Ishikawa, Ryo |
08:13 a.m. | Atwal, Arjun | Ridings, Tag | Streb, Robert |
08:25 a.m. | Walker, Jimmy | Claxton, Will | Stefani, Shawn |
Morning wave off No. 10:
Tee Time | Players | ||
06:30 a.m. | Romero, Andres | Senden, John | Hahn, James |
06:41 a.m. | Ogilvie, Joe | Owen, Greg | Chalmers, Greg |
06:53 a.m. | Lee, Richard H. | Overton, Jeff | Hicks, Justin |
07:04 a.m. | Wagner, Johnson | Glover, Lucas | Van Pelt, Bo |
07:16 a.m. | Crane, Ben | O'Hair, Sean | Singh, Vijay |
07:27 a.m. | Fowler, Rickie | Furyk, Jim | Cabrera, Angel |
07:39 a.m. | Duke, Ken | Horschel, Billy | Watney, Nick |
07:50 a.m. | Blixt, Jonas | Curtis, Ben | McNeill, George |
08:02 a.m. | Palmer, Ryan | Colsaerts, Nicolas | Flores, Martin |
08:13 a.m. | Perez, Pat | Stroud, Chris | Stuard, Brian |
08:25 a.m. | Norlander, Henrik | List, Luke | Fox, Steven |
Afternoon wave off No. 1:
Tee Time | Players | ||
11:30 a.m. | Villegas, Camilo | Every, Matt | Jobe, Brandt |
11:41 a.m. | Estes, Bob | Davis, Brian | Gomez, Fabian |
11:53 a.m. | Rollins, John | Mathis, David | DeLaet, Graham |
12:04 p.m. | Woodland, Gary | Cink, Stewart | Ames, Stephen |
12:16 p.m. | Gainey, Tommy | Henry, J.J. | Allenby, Robert |
12:27 p.m. | Scott, Adam | Leishman, Marc | Day, Jason |
12:39 p.m. | Snedeker, Brandt | Mahan, Hunter | Choi, K.J. |
12:50 p.m. | Hoffman, Charley | Maggert, Jeff | Barnes, Ricky |
01:02 p.m. | Pride, Dicky | Gillis, Tom | Compton, Erik |
01:13 p.m. | Summerhays, Daniel | Wi, Charlie | Lee, D.H. |
01:25 p.m. | LaBelle II, Doug | Watkins, Aaron | Williams, Chris |
Afternoon wave off No. 10:
Tee Time | Players | ||
11:30 a.m. | Taylor, Vaughn | Cauley, Bud | Wittenberg, Casey |
11:41 a.m. | Chappell, Kevin | McGirt, William | Castro, Roberto |
11:53 a.m. | Reavie, Chez | Campbell, Chad | Bolli, Justin |
12:04 p.m. | Molder, Bryce | Steele, Brendan | Leonard, Justin |
12:16 p.m. | Beljan, Charlie | Baddeley, Aaron | Garrigus, Robert |
12:27 p.m. | Henley, Russell | Stallings, Scott | Howell III, Charles |
12:39 p.m. | Laird, Martin | Brown, Scott | Jacobson, Freddie |
12:50 p.m. | Jones, Matt | Tringale, Cameron | Spieth, Jordan |
01:02 p.m. | Bohn, Jason | Lingmerth, David | Langley, Scott |
01:13 p.m. | de Jonge, Brendon | Driscoll, James | Fritsch, Brad |
01:25 p.m. | Gates, Bobby | Todd, Brendon | LeBrun, Steve |
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