Sports
World's Top Ranked Golfer To Arrive Early To Congressional
Though Tiger Woods won't play in the U.S. Open, the tournament is drawing plenty of high-profile golfers to Bethesda.
England’s Luke Donald, who has been the world’s top-ranked golfer for all of one week, plans to arrive at Congressional Country Club well ahead of schedule this week in order to familiarize himself with the vagaries of the famed Blue course in anticipation of the U.S. Open.
The Open is set for June 13-19, and is drawing big names in golf and an anticipated 35,000 daily spectators to Bethesda.
Donald, who officially became the new No. 1 on May 29, has made it clear to golf writers covering the tour that he would like to remain on top for some time to come, despite the fact that he has never won one of golf’s ‘major’ championships—the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open or the PGA .
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Tiger Woods ruled the roost as the world’s No. l ranked player for most the previous decade before his fateful Thanksgiving night car crash (and subsequent series of bizarre events) in late 2009. Woods recently announced that he would due to lingering injuries.
Although he has never captured a major, Donald has played well in most of them with five top ten finishes in 31 appearances in golf’s Big Four. He’s played especially well this year, tying for fourth in the Masters and also finishing in a fourth-place tie in the prestigious Players championship.
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Golf experts note that Donald has been playing with considerably more confidence of late and some think this year’s Open might be his breakout event in terms in capturing the public’s attention.
Donald and South Africa’s Ernie Els, who won the U.S. Open the last time it was played at Congressional in 1997, will be among several early arrivals this week in Bethesda.
Pete Kowalski, communications manager for the USGA, says his organization doesn’t keep tabs on who plans to show up early to get extra practice rounds this week at Congressional. “The actual registration doesn’t open until Saturday,” he told Patch Monday.
Meanwhile, 55-year-old Fred Funk, a former golf coach at the University of Maryland, will be the only local golfer in the Open field this year. Steve Marino, another well-known area golfer from Fairfax, Va., failed to qualify for the tournament.
