TOUR Insider: AT&T Classic

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Zach Johnson won his second AT&T Classic last year when the tournament date was moved to the warmth of May. He also won the 2004 edition in some chilly April breezes prior to the Masters Tournament.

Zach Johnson (Getty Images)

Power Rankings

Dave Shedloski's top five players this week:

1. Stewart Cink. The TOUR leader in top-10s and the highest ranked player in the field at No. 15, Cink sleeps in his own bed this week with a home game at TPC Sugarloaf. He might wake up a winner, finally, on Monday morning. 2. Ben Crane. Showed signs of rejuvenation with tie for sixth at THE PLAYERS, and he now visits a friendly venue from which he has been absent since 2004. 3. Kenny Perry. Should be plenty inspired after three strong rounds at TPC Sawgrass before his final-round stumble in the high winds and high pressure. 4. Zach Johnson. Only Stewart Cink is ranked higher in the Official World Golf Ranking, but no one matches Johnsons record at TPC Sugarloaf with his two victories and five finishes in the top 26 in as many starts. 5. Camilo Villegas. Third in his debut at the AT&T Classic last year and due to join the list of younger stars as a first-time winner.

This year will present yet a different test for Johnson and the other 155 players in the field. Because of the continuing drought conditions in Georgia that also put stress on East Lake Golf Club last year for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca Cola, the TPC Sugarloaf has not been overseeded in the rough with rye grass because that strain of grass requires incessant watering.

What this means for this year's 40th edition of the AT&T Classic in Duluth, Ga., is a firm, fast layout covered everywhere but the greens with bermudagrass. (The putting surfaces are bentgrass.) The par-72 TPC Sugarloaf layout measures 7,343 yards and will resemble a Florida layout, where balls that stray into the rough, depending on its thickness, could find some decent lies. Or not.

The winning score could be lower than Johnson's 15-under-par 273 in 2007 but isn't likely to approach the tournament record 260 Phil Mickelson set in '06.

"Some rough that's bermuda where the ball kind of sits up or sits down, you're going to see it's going to be more difficult, bottom line," said Johnson, who last year became the third player to win the AT&T Classic and Masters in the same year. "You're going to get flyers at times and you're going to get shots where you have to wedge it out. I'm anxious to see how far the ball rolls on the fairway. It's going to be a good test."

Johnson, an Iowa native who now lives in Lake Mary, Fla., has won all three of his PGA TOUR titles in Georgia. His record at TPC Sugarloaf, which has been the host site of the $5.5 million tournament since 1997, includes 17 of 19 rounds at par or better. His worst finish was a tie for 26th in 2005 when the event was reduced to 54 holes.

"For whatever reason, the golf course just fits my eye," said Johnson, 32, coming off a missed cut at THE PLAYERS. "I think it's a target-oriented golf course, a shot-maker's course as well. But 'target-oriented' meaning you just kind of plot your way around; you hit it here and then you have to hit it here and so forth. There's a few holes where you can overpower it and let loose, but I think that's few and far between.

"Bottom line is ... it's about putting if you're going to win tournaments and certainly to be in contention. I love those greens. You hit it on-line it's going to go in."

Because the tournament is celebrating its 40th anniversary (there was no event in 1974 so Atlanta Country Club could host the inaugural PLAYERS or in '76 because of the U.S. Open at Atlanta Athletic Club), there are a number of special events planned. Included is the return of the first winner Bob Charles, who will hit a ceremonial tee shot prior to the afternoon pro-am round on Wednesday.

FEDEXCUP POINTERS:

• TPC Sugarloaf course designer Greg Norman, playing this year on a one-time exemption for his status as a top-50 career money leader, is returning to the AT&T Classic for the first time since he missed the cut in 2004. His three top-10 finishes include a tie for fifth in 1997, the year TPC Sugarloaf, which was his first U.S. design, opened.

• Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen should be a formidable figure this week, given that he has finished in the top 10 three of six times at the AT&T Classic, including his victory in 2002. Like Zach Johnson, Goosen seems to thrive in Georgia, having also done well at the Masters (twice a runner-up) and at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca Cola, which he won in 2004 at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club.

• Stewart Cink has a home near TPC Sugarloaf. No surprise then that his 144 career birdies at the course ranks first in tournament history since the AT&T Classic moved to the Norman-designed layout. Cink has averaged 3.78 birdies for each of the 38 rounds.

• Troy Matteson is among the players enjoying something of a home game this week. The Florida native now lives in Alpharetta, Ga., and he's looking forward to playing near his living quarters. "It means a lot to have an event in your town. I can't think of anything better," he said. There would be one thing, and that's playing well. Matteson made early waves at THE PLAYERS before dropping back, but is encouraged by two equipment changes, switching to a Heavy Putter and shaving down the shaft of his driver from 45 inches to 44 ¼ for more control.

• Along with Goosen and Johnson, other former champions in the field include Bob Tway (1986), Corey Pavin (1991), Paul Stankowski (1996), Scott McCarron (1997 and 2001), David Duval (1999) and Ben Crane (2003).

• Duval, a former Georgia Tech standout, has three top-3 finishes at TPC Sugarloaf. Playing on a major medical extension, Duval seeks to make his first cut this year in eight starts as he has struggled, failing to so much as equal par in one of his 17 rounds.

• Alex Cejka is just waiting to break out now that he's back to 100 percent. THE PLAYERS was his first event in more than a month that he felt healthy after injuring his right wrist working out. He classified the injury as a strain that he says no longer hurts. "I'm fine. There's no excuse not to go out and play better," he said.

• Four of the five players who withdrew from THE PLAYERS due to injury or illness are signed up to play in Atlanta: Ryan Armour, Cameron Beckman, Jason Gore and Hunter Mahan. Shigeki Maruyama, who left TPC Sawgrass after his chronically injured shoulder flared up, isn't entered this week.