Tim Rosaforte of Golf World writes this solid piece on Aronimink, the new site of the AT&T National in 2010 and 2011. As usual, Tim’s informative and makes youn think.
From the article:
“For a city with such a rich tradition in golf, the Philadelphia market has been displaced on the PGA Tour calendar. The area hosted the SEI Pennsylvania Classic in 2000 and 2002. Before that the IVB Philadelphia Golf Classic was played at Whitemarsh Valley GC in Chestnut Hill in 1970s, and was won by headliners Billy Casper (1970), Tom Weiskopf (71-73), Hubert Green (74), Tom Kite (76) and Jack Nicklaus (78).
Tiger’s AT&T will presage the U.S. Open’s return to Merion GC in 2013–the first time in 32 years that a major will be played in the City of Brotherly Love. The big picture from all this: Philadelphia is back on the golf map, at a club with a tradition that made a transformation. “There are some great clubs and courses here that you would think would be hard to avoid,” Naumann said. “That’s kind of incredible that there has not been a PGA Tour stop here for so long. You wouldn’t expect that in a market like Philadelphia.”
Tim is absolutely right. With all the great golf in the Philly area, a tour stop should be a no brainer. Denver should get one back too, and quickly. There’s too much great golf in both Denver and Colorado to have then be barren at the PGA Tour level.
