No Tiger puts focus on Fowler
chances to win the Masters and the U.S. Open. He said he's caught himself trying too hard.
“There's probably been a few times where it hasn't been exactly either the right mindset or potentially getting behind the 8-ball early and pushing a little bit too much from there,” Fowler said, “instead of kind of letting things fall into place.”
This is the 11th edition of the Quicken Loans National, which launched with great fanfare in 2007. With Woods as the host, a field limited to 120 players and a storied Washington-area venue in Congressional Country Club, the event seemed destined to become a standout on the PGA Tour. It didn't hurt that Woods presented the trophy to himself twice, in 2009 and 2012.
But reality eventually set in. With Congressional either unable or unwilling to host every year, the tournament has bounced among several courses. And its spot on the calendar — between the U.S. and British Opens — has caused many players to skip the event, either to rest between majors or to play in Europe.
Young Spanish star Jon Rahm got a sponsor's exemption to make his pro debut last year at Congressional and tied for third.
He's not here this week, instead opting to play the French Open at the course that will host next year's Ryder Cup.
More than 100 players in the field have not yet qualified for the British Open, but that could change this week. The top four nonexempt players who finish among the top 12 will earn spots at Royal Birkdale.
TPC Potomac, a PGA Tour-owned property across the street from Congressional, last hosted a tour event in 2006. Players criticized the design and the conditioning when the tour first came to the course, then known as TPC Avenel, in the 1980s, with Greg Norman famously saying he wanted to “blow up” the 9th hole.
Following a major renovation and redesign from 2007-09, TPC Potomac has welcomed the PGA Tour Champions once and the Web.com Tour twice.
This week, the conditioning appears superb, with tight bentgrass fairways, thick rough and firm, bouncy greens. With little to no rain in the forecast, players are expecting a difficult week on the par-70 layout.
“It's hard. You could 100 percent host a U.S. Open here, starting tomorrow,” Thomas said.
Defending champion Billy Hurley III, a Washington-area native and Naval Academy graduate who lives in Annapolis, has perhaps more local knowledge at TPC Potomac than anyone in the field, and it's not even his first choice.