Congressional could use boost

Timing kept Europeans from participating.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paul Goydos remembers the first time he was asked to play in a PGA Tour event, and his RSVP was immediate.

His victory at Bay Hill in 1996 got him into the Masters and allowed him for the first time to set his own schedule. He never had much success at the Byron Nelson Championship, so he figured he would skip that one and play Colonial and Memorial, both invitationals.

“I’m playing the second round of the Masters, and Byron Nelson is sitting on a chair 5 feet from the tee markers. You had to take your practice swing to the side because you would hit him in the forehead,” Goydos said.

“And he looks at me and goes, ‘Hey, Paul, great playing at Bay Hill. Are you coming to the Byron Nelson?’

“And I looked at him and said, ‘I am now.’ ”

That led some to wonder when Tiger Woods will go from the world’s No. 1 player to chief recruiter for his AT T National.

Players typically rank quality of the golf course and the spot on the calendar as their top reasons for playing, so the lack of so many top 20 players — injuries aside — was surprising.

Congressional is as good as any track in golf. The setup was close to perfect, with the rough deep enough to present problems, yet not so thick that players couldn’t try to reach the green.

One problem might have been perception. Europe had 14 players among the top 50 in the world last week, none at Congressional. Most were at the European Open, with the British Open two weeks away. And this being a Ryder Cup year, some need to get in their minimum 11 tournaments for membership purposes.

Players invariably thank Woods for making them so much money. What would happen if he asked them to play in his event? That’s hard to imagine, for no other reason that it’s not Woods’ style.

“Tiger has done a lot for this tour the last 11 years,” Goydos said. “And I think if Tiger asks you to come help him out, you’re going to come help him out. And if you don’t, you’re a nut.”

Links debut

Brandt Snedeker will be making his British Open debut next week at Royal Birkdale, but it will not be his first time playing links golf. Snedeker jumped at the chance to play in the British Amateur in 2001 at Prestwick, where the first dozen British Opens were held.

“You used to be able to get in if you qualified for the U.S. Amateur,” he said. “I went over there one summer and had a blast. I missed out on match play, but I had a lot of fun. I can’t wait to get over there to get started.”

Even better for Snedeker is that he already has arranged for a practice round with his idol, Tom Watson, the only player to win the British Open on five courses — including Royal Birkdale in 1983.