To be able to play in an
event that I used to come to as an
amateur, as a junior and now as the tournament host, that is on one of the most historic sites in all of
golf, it's a dream come true.»
The former No. 1 player, who moved up to 88th in the official world
golf rankings after the Masters, has competed in the
event at the Southampton, New York, venue twice before — as an
amateur in 1995, though a sprained left wrist forced him to withdraw, in what may be among the first WDs of the injury - plagued superstar career, after rounds of 74 and 85, and in 2004, when he finished T17 at 10 - over.