It was a great day on Sunday in the Washington, DC area as we watched the great Tiger Woods win his own golf tournament, the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club.

My friends and I arrived at CC at 1:00 pm … just in time to see Tiger, dressed in his classic Sunday outfit (red Nike shirt, black slacks), practicing on the driving range.   You could sense the buzz in the air as the crowd was stirring with excitement.

One other thing that jumped out at me when I first walked onto the grounds was the diversity of the crowd.   There were a number of African-Americans and Asian-Americans.  There’s no doubt that this is the “Tiger effect,” who is a mixture of Asian, African-American and Caucuasian.  But, many Asians were also there to root on the defending tourney champion, Anthony Kim.

It was interesting to see the massive crowds follow the final pairing, Tiger and Anthony.  Many of the not well-known golfers only had a handful of fans watching them.  But, with Tiger and AK, people were lining up six-deep to watch their awesome display of skills.

Another interesting thing to see live in person is Tiger’s physique.  He is ripped — there’s no doubt that he spends a good amount of time working out in the gym.  This is definitely in contrast with many of the veteran golfers.

Also, I love hearing the sound of Tiger striking the ball.  It’s a unique sound with his power and fury.  It’s amazing to think that he hits some of his tee shots the length of 3 to 3.5 100-yard football fields.  Crazy, eh.

Tiger did win the tourney by one shot over Hunter Mahan.  It was really cool to see him stride down the 18th fairway.  And, after he made his final putt, he threw his hands up in the air and let out a huge smile.  I’m sure his father was looking down on him with great pride.

In closing, it’s always wonderful to see Tiger’s dedication to the US Military (the military soldiers are admitted free to the tourney).  It’s a dedication to his late father, Earl Woods, a retired Army colonel.  As one who has lost his father, also a retired military veteran, recently, I greatly admire and respect how Tiger is paying tribute to his father by hosting this golf tourney in his father’s honor in the National’s Capital during a holiday weekend saluting the country.