US TOUR:Tournament host Tiger Woods will be a conspicuous absentee at this week's ATT National where South Korean KJ Choi defends the title he won by three shots last year. Choi will be bidding for his eighth career PGA Tour title.
Five of the world's top 20 are competing at Congressional Country Club, led by seventh-ranked American Steve Stricker and holder Choi (10th).
Stricker, voted the 2007 PGA Tour comeback player of the year for the second season in a row, is delighted to be back at a venue where he finished second 12 months ago and won the Kemper Open in 1996.
"This whole area has been a special place for me," Stricker (41) said during preparation for today's opening round. "And to finish second here last year propelled me to a good, strong, season-ending push towards that FedExCup. I had a good rest of the year from here on out.
"Its a great course, a major-style course. The rough isn't quite as bad as it was last year but it will test you in every aspect of your game. It's one of my favourites out here on tour.
This week's event is the first on the PGA Tour where official drug testing could take place, following the approval last November of the Tour's inaugural anti-doping programme by its policy board.
Other big names in today's field include Jim Furyk and US Masters champion Trevor Immelman of South Africa.
• AMATEUR:Gareth Shaw was Ireland's leading player for the second day running as the defending champions safely negotiated their way into the quarter-finals of the European Amateur Team Championships at Royal Park GC in Turin, Italy.
Over two days of strokeplay qualifying the Lurgan golfer produced the team's lowest scores by following his opening 68 with yesterday's 70 as Ireland qualified in seventh place with a 10-round team aggregate of one-under par 719. Scotland won the qualifying by five shots from Sweden with a 22-under total.
Ireland's qualification into the top flight looked anything but certain midway through the afternoon as several key players had off days. Irish number one Shane Lowry was three-over after five holes before eventually signing for a 78 and was the discarded Irish score on the second day.
"Our job was to qualify and that's what we've done. Now the slate is wiped clean and we start afresh against Sweden in the quarter-finals," said GUI general secretary, Shay Smith
Shaw, who will turn professional next Monday, is currently eighth in the individual standings on six-under, four shots behind Scotland's Wallace Booth. When Ireland won the title for the first time in 20 years at Western Gailes last year, Rory McIlroy was the leading individual player.
EUROPEAN AMATEUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS (in Turin):698 - Scotland; 703 - Sweden, Germany; 705 - England; 708 - Italy; 709 Spain; 719 - Ireland (G Shaw 70, J Caldwell 72, P Cutler 74, P O'Hanlon 74, N Kearney 76, Discarded: S Lowry 78).
LEINSTER YOUTHS CHAMPIONSHIP:
Brian Keenan from the Heath Golf Club leads going into today's final two rounds at Portarlintgon after overtaking Irish Youth international Rory McNamara with yesterday's second round 67.
Keenan led the 36-hole qualifying with a 137 aggregate, one shot better than McNamara, who shot a second round 70. Kilkenny's Craig Martin was third on 140 after carding 69. The cut for the 51 players who made it into the final two rounds fell at 155.
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