BETHESDA, Md. -- K.J. Choi's victory at the AT&T National a year ago at Congressional Country Club outside Washington, D.C., was Choi's sixth since he joined the PGA Tour full time in 2000. The victory at the event hosted by Tiger Woods was one of two titles he enjoyed in 2007. Choi also won the Memorial Tournament. Earlier this year, at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Choi won, giving him at least one Tour victory every year since 2005.

Choi, a member of the 2003 and 2007 International Presidents Cup teams, is 12th in the FedExCup standings and has three top-10 finishes this season. He's also 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

This week's event will be the 42nd official TOUR event the Washington, D.C., area has hosted since the first tournament -- the 1921 U.S. Open -- was held in Chevy Chase, Md.

Last year on the PGA Tour, the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club ranked as the ninth-hardest course, with a scoring average of 71.54 for the week on the par-70 layout. Four of the top five courses on Tour in 2007 came at major championship venues. Out of the 10 toughest courses in 2007, seven of them were played as a par 70. The toughest hole at Congressional was the 489 yard par-4 11th hole, with a scoring average of 4.403.

Fred Funk played in his first career PGA Tour event at Congressional Country Club in 1982. He tied for 51st and earned $947.

"At the time, that was like 1/20th of my yearly salary," he said. "In those days, you got into the next week's event if you made the cut, and I played in Memphis the following week with Payne Stewart, before he wore knickers."

Twenty-six years later, Funk has played in a total of 588 PGA Tour events and has amassed $20,913,249, 16th on the all-time list. Funk finished 62nd at last year's AT&T National. Funk has split his time between the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He won the Champions Tour's MasterCard Championship at Hualalai earlier this season.

Three players will be rewarded with positions in the 2008 British Open field upon completion of the AT&T National. The top two players, not otherwise exempt, who have earned the most PGA Tour official money from The Players Championship and the five co-sponsored and approved events leading up to and including the AT&T National will earn British Open invites. The leading player, not otherwise exempt, among the top-10 finishers and ties at the 2008 AT&T National also earns a spot in the field. Ties will be decided by who records the better final-round score.

Matt Gogel holds the Congressional Country Club Blue Course 18-hole record, posting a first-round 63 at the 2005 Booz Allen Classic. Gogel went on to tie for seventh. Four other players have had 64s. They are Tommy Jacobs (1964 U.S. Open), George Burns (1983 Kemper Open), and Fred Couples and Bobby Clampett (1986 Kemper Open). A year ago, Shigeki Maruyama and Hunter Mahan both had 65s to record the lowest 18-hole score at the AT&T National.

With his second victory of the season at last week's Buick Open, Kenny Perry finds himself a mere seven points behind Phil Mickelson as the two chase overall leader Tiger Woods. Mickelson, with 15,940 points, is in second, with Perry's 15,933 good enough for third. Stewart Cink is in fourth, followed by Justin Leonard.

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