"It certainly has been the goal at this club to attract a major. The world will be watching," said Dick Naumann, Aronimink's general manager. "Including the folks from the USGA and the PGA."
Aronimink has hosted just one event involving the best players in the world, when Gary Player won the 1962 PGA Championship. It also hosted the 1977 U.S. Amateur, the 1992 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2003 Senior PGA Championship.
How the course plays for Tiger's 120 guests the next 2 years will go far in determining its candidacy to host a major. Sean O'Hair, a West Chester resident who frequently plays at Aronimink, believes his peers will love it.
"Aronimink is a great place for a PGA Championship, and maybe even a U.S. Open in the future. It's got a great feel to it. It looks nice . . . but it is nice. It's old school. It's very traditional," O'Hair said.
Perhaps the tour could use more of that.
"Once they complete the changes, I think there's going to be a lot of positive reinforcement from the players," O'Hair said.
The most important reinforcement would come from the planet's most famous athlete. If Woods endorses it as a contender to host a major, that would carry plenty of weight.
Of course, he'd have to visit it first.
He has only heard about it. He has listened to endorsements from O'Hair and from Trevor Immelman and from AT & T tournament director and Tiger Woods Foundation president Greg McLaughlin, who played the course 2 weeks ago, his sixth visit to the venue.
Again, McLaughlin raved to Woods about the course. McLaughlin is confident the layout and the conditions will meet with Woods' approval. Only the toughest courses suit Tiger's appetite.
