Two of golf’s biggest stars will be sitting out the AT&T National this week at Congressional Country Club.
U.S. Open Champion, Justin Rose, announced on Monday evening that he was withdrawing from the AT&T National due to fatigue. He has been on a whirlwind schedule since his win at the U.S. Open. He was able to finish a respectable T-13 at the Travelers Championship last week, but with the Open Championship, PGA Championship and FedEx Cup Playoffs looming, he felt it best to take a break and rest.
2012 AT&T National defending champion, Tiger Woods, who also acts as a host for this event, was also forced to withdraw after injuring his left arm trying to gouge shots out of the thick rough at Merion Golf Club in the U.S. Open.
This is just another slight set back for the world’s No. 1 golfer, who needs to be fit and at top form for the Open Championship and the PGA Championship coming later in the year.
The AT&T National is held in the nation’s capital and pays tribute to our armed forces. Earl Woods retired from military service as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army. His son, Tiger, has a close association with the AT&T National and the Tiger Woods Foundation is a major beneficiary of the proceeds from this event.
Although Woods and Rose are not playing this week, the 132 player field consists of 69 former PGA Tour winners and 12 major champions.
The tournament offers a total purse of $6.5 million with $1.1 million going to the winner.
The first two rounds can be seen on the Golf Channel on Thursday, June 27 and Friday, June 28, 3:00-6:00 PM ET. Golf Channel will also provide early round coverage on Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, June 30, 1:00-2:30 PM ET.
CBS will provide live coverage on the weekend 3:00-6:00 PM ET on Saturday, June 29 and 3:00-6:30 PM ET on Sunday for the final round.