The Starter, Round 1: AT&T National

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Jul. 1, 2010

The first round of the AT&T National is set to begin Thursday. Here's a preview:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
8:37 a.m. ET No. 10		Justin Rose, J.B. Holmes, Sean O'Hair Rose has been strong lately on U.S. soil. Neither Holmes nor O'Hair has cracked a top 10 since February, but each has three top 15s.
12:56 ET, No. 1		Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Davis Love III Tiger will be looking to win his tourney once again. Johnson (82) and Love (71) will see their first action since drastically different U.S. Open finales.
1:07 p.m. ET, No. 1		Vijay Singh, David Toms, Robert Allenby You'll find 50 career TOUR victories in this group. Singh appears to be returning to form with a pair of top-15 finishes in three June starts.

MORE ROUND 1: Tee times | Inside the field | Inside the course

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR NETWORK on-site correspondent Fred Albers previews Round 1:

How good is the Aronimink Golf Club? Mark Wilson walked off the 18th green and said, "I love it," for all the world to hear. Wilson went on to say, "We need to find a way to get this course on the PGA Tour rotation every year. It's that good."

Thursday's forecast

Sunny
Temp: 79 high/57 low
Chance of precipitation 0 percent. Winds from NW at around 15 mph.

Donald Ross designed Aronimink and his thumb print is clearly visible around the greens. There are several green complexes with edges leading to chipping areas. Ross is famous for his "saucer" greens at Pinehurst but several Aronimink greens are bowl shaped. The 4th and 5th greens features high sides and low centers so the ball will funnel toward the middle of the putting surface.

Greens are usually receptive in the early portion of tournament week and tend to harden as play progresses, however several well struck shots hit the putting surface during Wednesday's ProAm and took a giant leap over the green, never leaving a ball mark. That's an indication the greens are already firm and could lead to difficult scoring.

Take a couple inches off the top. The rough at Aronimink got a trim on Tuesday. One to two inches of grass was cut off the top of the long rough bordering fairways. It still presents a problem. Tour players will have to ask themselves, "Would it be better to hit driver and maybe have a short iron out of the rough onto the green or should I layup off the tee and hit 5 iron from the fairway." It will be interesting to see how those decisions are answered during the course of play.

How did Aronimink get its name? Interesting question and there is no one definitive answer. Club historians lend credence to a pair of interpretations. One story says an Indian Chief named Arronimink use to live on the property before Ross created the golf course, another says Aronimink means "by the beaver dam" in the language of the Lenape tribe. By the end of the week , PGA Tour players might believe Aronimink means, "difficult golf course."

The Film Room

	Preview: 2010 AT&T National The PGA TOUR heads to Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, Pennsylvania where Tiger Woods looks to defend his title at the 2010 AT&T National. Watch it
	Interview: Tiger Woods Tiger Woods tells the 2010 AT&T National media that he expects the golf course to be a good test, even for such a good field. Watch it
	2010 Rookie Update Derek Lamely and Rory McIlroy have already won this season. Check out how the rest of the 2010 PGA TOUR rookies are doing this season. Watch it