ATT notebook

By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: July 6, 2008

BETHESDA, Md.—There was more at stake than just a tournament title for some players at this week’s AT&T National.

Rocco Mediate and Fredrik Jacobson both played well enough to earn exemptions into the British Open in two weeks at Royal Birkdale.

Mediate, the underdog darling of last month’s U.S. Open, finished second on the “British Open money list,” which includes total earnings from the Players Championship, the St. Jude, U.S. Open, Travelers and AT&T National. Kenny Perry topped the list, but he has elected to skip the British. The top two players earn exemptions, but the exemption is not passed on to the next player if one of the players elects not to use the exemption.
Jacobson qualified as a “top-5 exemption”. The top player among the top 5 and ties in the AT&T National and next week’s John Deere Classic not already eligible for the British earn a spot at Royal Birkdale.

“I’ve been working really hard for a long time with my coach and it’s come together the last couple of weeks,” Jacobson said.

Attendance down

About 20 minutes before the leaders teed off Sunday at Congressional, River Road — the main artery leading to the golf course — was clear of traffic.

Considering how much attendance numbers dipped at this year’s AT&T National, that’s not all that surprising. Crowd numbers were down every day during the tournament, including a near 50-percent drop-off from the Saturday round last year to this year’s Saturday round. In total, attendance dropped from 139,389 in 2007 to 107,120 this week.

There were plenty of contributing factors to the drop, none bigger than the absence of marquee names from the AT&T field. Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Geoff Ogilvy all competed here in 2007. None were around in 2008.

Another factor: The tournament actually fell on the Fourth of July weekend this year. Last year, the Fourth was on Wednesday, the day of the pro-am. This year, the Fourth was on Friday, meaning many potential fans may have skipped town for the long weekend and headed to nearby beaches.

Smart move

At the Shell Houston Open, Anthony Kim asked Eric Larson if he was interested in working his bag. Larson was Mark Calcavecchia’s caddie at the time, but Kim wanted to give Larson a four-week trial run after The Masters.

Three months later, Larson and Kim have teamed to win two PGA Tour tournament titles—at the Wachovia Championship and at this week’s AT&T National.

“Mark told me he wasn’t going to get between me and an opportunity like that,” Larson said. “He said give it a shot.”

Quoteable

“At least I made a few birdies in there, but it was very disappointing,” — Tom Pernice, Jr., the 54-hole leader after shooting a 2-over 72 that included two double bogeys. He finished in a tie for ninth.

Chip-ins

Virginia graduate Steve Marino shot a 1-under 69 Sunday to finish at 4 under for the week. He tied for 24th and earned $52,800. He dropped one spot to 51st in the FedEx Cup standings. … Virginia Tech graduate Johnson Wagner shot a 2-under 68 to finish at 3 under for the tournament. He finished in a tie for 27th and earned $39,100. Wagner jumped one spot to 37th in the FedEx Cup points standings. … K.J. Choi, the 2007 AT&T National champion, finished even par for the tournament and was tied for 49th. … Peter Lonard tied the CCC course record with a 7-under 63 Sunday and jumped to from a tie for 45th after Saturday into a tie for seventh.