Tiger Woods to emphasize military service as host of golf event

WASHINGTON -- Tiger Woods is bringing more than a golf tournament back to the nation's capital.

Along with his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record 18 professional majors, Woods has quietly set a couple of goals for his work outside the ropes over the last couple of years.

One of them was to be the host of a PGA Tour event in the same way Nicklaus has the Memorial and Arnold Palmer has Bay Hill. The other was to expand his Tiger Woods Learning Center beyond the $25 million facility that opened a year ago in Anaheim, Calif., and already has provided educational tools to more than 5,000 kids.

He knocked out both of them Wednesday in Washington.

Woods was officially announced as the host of the new AT&T National, which will be played the week of Fourth of July. The Tiger Woods Foundation will run the tournament and get charitable proceeds, and Woods said that money would go toward building a new learning center in the Washington area.

"The last year or so, we've been looking up and down the Eastern seaboard for a new learning center," Woods said. "And then this opportunity fell into our laps. It makes sense to build it here, we just haven't had time to find a site yet."

The first step is to build a tournament.

The AT&T National replaces the International outside Denver, which shut down last month when tournament founder Jack Vickers couldn't find a sponsor, which he blamed in part on Woods not playing the event.

It will be played July 5-8, and Woods isn't sure if he will be able to play this year because his wife is expecting their first child. But while Palmer bought the Bay Hill Club and Nicklaus built his own course in his hometown outside Columbus, Ohio, Woods is establishing his tournament roots in Washington.

"That's our intent, to stay here and have this be our home event, hopefully for perpetuity," he said.

Woods becomes the youngest player to host a tournament. Bobby Jones was 32 when the Augusta National Invitation -- which later became the Masters -- was held in 1934. Nicklaus was 36 when the Memorial was played for the first time. Palmer was 44 when he took over at Bay Hill, and Byron Nelson had been long retired when he gave his name to a tournament in Dallas.

"Not too many people are fortunate to have an opportunity like this," Woods said. "What Bobby Jones did for golf and starting the Masters, that won't be touched. As far as what Jack has done at the Memorial, or Arnold at Bay Hill or Mr. Nelson in Dallas, those have been true legends of the game. They made a tremendous impact on our sport.

"I want to build something along that level," he said. "Obviously, with my competitive nature, I want it to be better."