K.J. Has His Way

Choi won his sixth PGA Tour title playing what Woods called "unbelievable golf."

In addition to the ceremonial opening tee shot of the President Bush for whom we are now nostalgic, rarely has the pre-tournament hoopla been as interesting as it was before the start of the AT&T National. To begin with, Woods publicly acknowledged that his wife, Elin, was admitted to an Orlando hospital Thursday of the U.S. Open, a fact that led to an avalanche of sanctimonious palaver. Clearly, however, the Woodses seem selfishly determined to lead their own lives, notwithstanding the fact that everyone else knows better.

Then, in the so-you-think-your-dad-is-hard-to-buy-for division, what do you give the couple that, literally, has everything? Phil Mickelson fessed up that the baby gift he and Amy sent Tiger and Elin was a miniature Ping-Pong table, harking, of course, to the team-room table- tennis matches the pair are famous for. Good heavens, has a sense of humor broken out on the PGA Tour? What's next, a Democrat?

Once shots began being struck in earnest, the attention still remained focused on Woods and Mickelson and the inability of either to make a putt. The left-hander with the gimpy wrist was showing his rust in his first competitive round since missing the cut in the U.S. Open at Oakmont CC. He took 30 putts and never made a birdie in a four-over 74. Woods was even worse on the greens, with four three-putts and 34 total in his opening 73. But, don't cry for him, Argentina.

His Hostness put a piece of lead tape on his Scotty Cameron to combat the syrupy greens and shot 66 the next day. "It's great to see Tiger, who yesterday said he can't putt, find something," joked Billy Andrade. "Most normal golfers, you might go through a funk for six months, you can't find your putting stroke. What did it take him, six hours? So, I'm glad he found whatever he lost there for a day."

Mickelson, on the other hand, went without tape (on his wrist, that is), and nearly took out the Secretary of State. On the par-5 16th, his 2-iron second shot more or less flew over the head of Condoleezza Rice and came to rest under a chain-link fence separating the golf course from the cemetery behind the Hermon Presbyterian Church, circa 1874, where Phil was, for lack of a better term, dead. While Madam Secretary was never in serious danger, Phil's 2-iron was. Mickelson was test-driving it in competition because he thought it might be a good choice for the British Open instead of the hybrid it replaced. Not so much. "I used it off the fourth hole and hit it in the rough and made my first bogey. Then, I tried to hit the 2-iron [at 16] and ended up making double. So, that 2-iron is not going to make the lineup for Carnoustie. It's out." As was he after 36 holes.

The halfway lead was seven under par, held jointly by Appleby and Choi, who also share the same swing coach, Australian Steve Bann. Both had been among the first-round leaders as well, along with Vijay Singh, Furyk and Joe Ogilvie. Choi, meanwhile, was turning heads with his Super Stroker. One of them belonged to Harrison Frazar, who used it last year and, when he took 34 putts the first day on Congressional's greens, slapped his back on, too.

"It's got a name," says Frazar, "but I call it 'Fat Bastard.' "

A third straight round in the 60s staked Appleby to what turned out to be his rather short-lived two-shot lead over Choi. Saturday's date, 7-7-07, didn't prove very lucky for His Hostness, who had almost as good a ball-striking round as he did in the third round at Oakmont with equally discouraging results on the greens, turning, as he put it, "a 63 or 64 into a 69 very smoothly." Instead, Appleby and Choi were being pursued by Stricker, who seems to thrive on the tough venues (see page TK); Weir, who was anxious to earn a Presidents Cup spot in Montreal; and Lucas Glover, who was trying to grab a British Open slot offered to the low human in the field not otherwise exempt, which instead went to Pat Perez. And, the spiked-up greens notwithstanding, The Host always lurketh.

For the AT&T National, the easy part is now over. The imprimatur of Woods guaranteed it would be an event of stature. Securing Congressional for two years eliminated the biggest reason players didn't come to D.C.--TPC Avenel. Tiger's commitment to honoring the members of the armed forces during the week of the July Fourth holiday was a winning strategy in part because it was so genuinely heartfelt. And D.C. loved him back. The town hasn't seen approval ratings like Woods' since Dolley Madison rescued George Washington's portrait. The city voted with its feet, showing up in crowds the size of a '60s demonstration, including a rather large Korean contingent.

So, what's to keep this AT&T from becoming Tiger's version of Bay Hill or the Memorial? Well, for one, Congressional might just take a pass. And, not just in 2009 and 2011, years when it has conflicting USGA events. Had the AT&T not been linked with Woods, does anyone believe the members of Congressional would have been willing to do the flamenco dance of broken promises with the PGA Tour again? After two years of basking in the glow of the world's No. 1, their enthusiasm may wane. If that was to happen, would a retooled Avenel be good enough to suit Woods? One of the big differences between Tiger's event and Arnold's and Jack's is those guys own the joint, or control it, and Tiger doesn't.