Week 26 Approach Shots: AT&T National

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Anthony Kim played from behind throughout the 2008 AT&T National, trailing by two strokes after 18 holes and was three off the pace at both the midway point and going into the final round. But a Sunday 65 moved Kim past five players and gave him a two-stroke victory over Fredrik Jacobson.

Quick Facts

WHAT: 28th of 37 regular-season PGA TOUR events WHEN: July 2-5 WHERE: Bethesda, Md. COURSE: Congressional CC TV: 3 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., GOLF; 3-6 p.m. Sat., CBS; 3-6:30 p.m. Sun. CBS RADIO: 12 -8 p.m. ET Thurs.-Sat., 12 p.m.-12 a.m. Sun., PGA TOUR Network (XM 146/SIRIUS 209) FEDEXCUP POINTS: 500 for winner KEY LINKS: Tee times | Leaderboard | Tournament page VIDEO: Opening Shot

It was Kim's second win of 2008 (he also won the Wachovia Championship) and helped him to a fourth-place finish in the FedExCup. Kim also finished sixth on the money list ($4,656,265) and represented the U.S. at the Ryder Cup.

JUGGLING ACT: This is the third year of the Tiger Woods-hosted tournament at Congressional Country Club's Blue Course, and Woods is in the field this week playing a dual role as both host and competitor. In 2007, Woods tied for sixth in his only appearance in the tournament. Woods joins Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only players in the same week to have hosted and competed in an official PGA TOUR event. Woods missed last year's event due to knee surgery but has rebounded with two wins and seven top-10s in eight starts in 2009.

DRY SEASON: Kim has yet to win in 2009 but did tie for second at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, and he's coming off a tie for 11th at last week's Travelers Championship. He is 45th in the FedExCup race. Six of Anthony Kim's eight career rounds at Congressional Country Club have been in the 60s, including rounds of 67-67-69-65 a year ago during his victory.

SEARCHING FOR HIS SECOND WIN: Steve Stricker, who won earlier this year at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, claimed his first career PGA TOUR title at nearby TPC Avenel in 1996. In two starts at the AT&T National, Stricker's best finish was a tie for seventh in 2007.

LEE IN THE LINEUP: New Zealand's Danny Lee will make his first appearance at the AT&T National, exempt into the tournament as the previous year's U.S. Amateur champion. He won the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia on the European Tour. Since turning pro, Lee has made three of seven cuts and has one top-25 finish at the HP Byron Nelson Championship (tied for 13th).

HOMETOWN HEROES ON THE HORIZON: Steve Marino, who grew up in nearby Fairfax, Va., is making his third appearance at the AT&T National. Marino held the first-round lead last year and eventually tied for 24th, his best finish at the event. In 2009, Marino has recorded three top-10 finishes, including a playoff loss at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Champions Tour player Fred Funk, who most recently made the cut at the U.S. Open, is a Takoma Park, Md., native who is making his third appearance at the tournament. He finished second last week at the Champions Tour's Dick's Sporting Goods Open.

ON-COURSE OBSERVATIONS: PGA TOUR Network correspondent Doug Bell is on the scene in Bethesda, Md., for this week's satellite radio coverage (XM 146/SIRIUS 209). Reports Bell:

It was a gorgeous Wednesday in the nation's capital, where we prepare not only for the Fourth of July but also the third AT&T National. Military personnel from all branches took part in the opening ceremonies on Wednesday, as did members of the Wounded Warriors and paratroopers. Jessica Simpson, the girlfriend of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, sang the national anthem. The entire event was one of the most touching moments all year. All of the tournaments are special in their own right, but having the world No. 1 at his own tournament standing there talking about how much the military means to his family -- to be a part of that was spine-tingling. It was very, very special and set the stage for a great week.

Tiger, who played with Romo in the pro-am, shot a 66 on Wednesday and was very pleased. He even answered a few hecklers, who wanted to know why Tiger would be playing with Romo when Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell was relegated to one group behind them. He handled those comments with aplomb and laughed along way with spectators.

The course itself is in wonderful shape. The fairways are fast and very firm, and the rough is deep. It's not as tough as a U.S. Open set up, but it is tough in own right. When asked about the course set up, Tiger smiled and said he had definitely been involved. All he could say is that he doesn't like an event where you have to shoot 66 every round to be the winner. Last year Anthony Kim won with a 12-under par score. But in talking with the players, most of them are practicing hard around the chipping area and in the bunkers because they expect to miss fairways and greens and have awkward lies. They will be hard pressed to get to double figures with the winning score this year.

Speaking of the defending champion, Kim battled a sprained thumb for most of the year but recorded top-20 finishes in his last two tournaments. He's still not up to his usual caliber but he's very pleased with those results. Aside from the thumb injury, he's also had other ailments but he's healthy for the first time since last year. He's fired up to return to a place where he won a year ago and thinks his game is coming into form right in time to win back-to-back titles.

Another player you have to look for is Jim Furyk. He's finished third at the AT&T National in 2007 and 2008, plus he tied for fifth at the U.S. Open when it was held at Congressional in 1997. He obviously likes this course very much. It's well documented that he hasn't won on TOUR since 2007, but in talking with Jim and his caddie, Mike "Fluff" Cowan, it's evident that Jim's confidence level is high. Maybe it's time for him to get back in the winner's circle. Fluff is a member here at Congressional and plays this course quite a bit, so he can certainly help Jim along the way. As a side note -- Fluff met his wife in the gallery at the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional while caddying for Tiger Woods.

Steve Marino, who attended the University of Virginia, was out here on Wednesday with his mom and sister. He has some rowdy fans from college who come every year and, in fact, he's staying with old college chums this week. If one guy considers this his personal major -- in addition to the other four -- then that would be Steve Marino. This is the one tournament he really wants to win.

Everything is set up for a memorable week. Knock on wood, the weatherman said there's only a 20 percent chance of rain. Considering the rain we've had all year on TOUR, perhaps this is the week where we won't have any bad weather as we celebrate the nation's birthday at Tiger's event.

Weather forecast for the AT&T National

THURSDAY, Rd. 1 FRIDAY, Rd. 2 SATURDAY, Rd. 3 SUNDAY, Rd. 4 Partly cloudy Temp: 81 high/64 low Partly cloudy Temp: 83 high/66 low Partly cloudy Temp: 87 high/64 low Isolated t-storms Temp: 80 high/64 low

DTN/Meteorlogix is the official weather provider of the PGA TOUR. For more information, click here

AT&T National snippets

RECORD LOWS: Tom Pernice Jr., set the tournament course record with a 7-under-par 63 in the second round last year. The low score at Congressional Country Club's Blue Course at previous PGA TOUR co-sponsored events was a 63 set by Matt Gogel at the 2005 Booz Allen Classic when the course routing was different and it played to a par 71. BY THE NUMBERS: Congressional Country Club's Blue Course played to a first-round stroke average of 71.286 a year ago and was increasingly easier each day. The second-round scoring average was 70.191, followed by a third-round 69.651 and final-round 69.338. FAMILIAR FACES: The Earl Woods Memorial Pro-Am took place on Wednesday, July 1, with celebrities Bruce Boudreau, Jason Campbell, Antwaan Randle El and Tony Romo competing. Tournament host Tiger Woods played with Romo, the Dallas Cowboys' starting quarterback. SUITS THEIR EYE: There are only three players who have made the cut at the last four playings of a PGA TOUR event at Congressional Country Club: Jim Furyk, Stuart Appleby and Maryland native Fred Funk. All three players are in the field this year. FABULOUS FURYK: Only two players have recorded consecutive top-10 finishes at Congressional CC since 2005. Jim Furyk and Robert Allenby will try and continue their streak at the 2009 AT&T National. Furyk not only tied for third in the tournament last year - he also tied for third in Fairways Hit (78.6%) and Greens in Regulation.

In the spotlight

This week: Jim Furyk

Each week during the 2009 season, PGATOUR.COM will spotlight one key player in the field. For this week's AT&T National, it's 13-time PGA TOUR winner Jim Furyk. Learn more about Jim

A victory this week earns you ...

• Fully Exempt for the remainder of 2009 and all of 2010-11 • 500 FedExCup points: Almost anyone in the field would reach the top 50 and create additional opportunities to play in the 2009 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup and for the World Golf Championship-CA Championship in 2010 • A spot in the following events in order of play: 2009 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, 2009 PGA Championship, 2010 SBS Championship, 2010 PLAYERS Championship, 2010 Masters • If a U.S. player, 2,160,000 points towards making the 2009 Presidents Cup team

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 466-yard 18th at Congressional LAST YEAR: The 18th played to a stroke average of 4.090, with players recording one eagle, 55 birdies, 254 pars, 65 bogeys and 12 double bogeys. DESCRIPTION: Congressional's signature hole sets up perfectly for a long, right-to-left tee shot. Anything too far right could find trouble and a thick grove of cedars. Bunkers right of the green combined with water on three sides make the second shot a test of courage. (Click here for tour)