AT&T National has lost some of its sizzle

Just three of the top 20 players in the world rankings will tee it up today for the start of the AT&T National at Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia. Much like Tiger Woods, its former host and current defending champion, the tournament has suffered a fall from grace since it replaced the International on the 2007 PGA Tour schedule.

In the beginning, the event attracted stellar fields. But this year it is not nearly as strong as some other events, such as the Memorial or Quail Hollow Championship, partly because the European Tour returns to the continent and players are gearing up for the British Open. The Alstom Open de France, meanwhile, boasts top-10 players Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy, as well as Martin Kaymer and Geoff Ogilvy.

Even so, the AT&T National has attracted Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Vijay Singh, Davis Love III, Lucas Glover, Y.E. Yang, Robert Allenby and Sean O'Hair. While he no longer is the host, Woods still took part in the opening ceremonies, which featured Bon Jovi. He says he is still working hard "behind the scenes," as proceeds benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation.

Aronimink, which will act as host course for the AT&T National for two years while Congressional Country Club is updated to host the 2011 U.S. Open, is relatively unknown by all except O'Hair, who is a member of the club. The course, originally designed by Donald Ross, last played host to a PGA Tour event when Gary Player won the 1962 PGA, which might also help explain this week's weak field.

The tournament falls between two of the biggest events on his golfing calendar -- the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and the British Open at St. Andrews -- and much attention will fall on Woods, partly because St. Andrews is one of his favorite courses and partly because he tied for fourth at the U.S. Open with a spotty performance. He matched a tournament-low 66 in the third round to get into contention, only to close with a 75.

That performance left the golf world still wondering when he is going to regain his past winning form. The circumstances have obviously changed since he took a five-month hiatus from competition to cope with the fallout of extramarital affairs. But this is the longest stretch Woods has gone without winning at the start of a season since 2002.

Even so, his effort at Pebble Beach was his best since he tied for fourth at the Masters.

"Things are starting to come around, which is nice to see," Woods said. "It's just a matter of getting more and more consistent with what I'm working on and putting together better rounds."

Aronimink could play difficult for Woods and the rest of the field. It is a course with sharp changes in elevation and bends in the fairways, relatively large greens and minimal water. It is not a classic Ross course from redesigns over the years, yet it has a storied history.

Woods won last year at Congressional with a 13-under 267, outlasting Anthony Kim in the final group and holding off a late charge from Hunter Mahan. Neither of them are here this week, as Kim recovers from thumb surgery and Mahan withdrew.

Woods has played only 17 rounds on the PGA Tour this year and has only two top 10s. He has posted consecutive rounds in the 60s only once this year, at the Memorial, where he was never a factor.

The AT&T National will be televised by the Golf Channel (today: 3-6 p.m.; Friday: 3-6 p.m.) and by CBS (Saturday: 3-6 p.m.; Sunday: 3-6:30 p.m.).

Information from Golf.com, GolfObserver.com and PGATOUR.com contributed to this post.