When a tee is the first tee and so much more

The first tee at a PGA event is a place where the anticipation is as ripe as the fruit, where golf's humdrum rituals play out side by side with its formalities, where roses and bug spray, handshakes and hand-claps are all part of a familiar routine.

Before Sunday's final round of the AT&T National at Aronimink Golf Club, most of the groups - threesomes because of the threat of rain - arrived there from the putting green about five minutes before their start times.

Alongside the roses-encircled silver trophy, which stood enticingly on a wooden podium, each cluster of players shook hands with each other, the caddies, the blue-blazered starter ("Thank you for being a part of this."), their standard-bearer and spotter, the honorary observers and the booming-voiced Marine who would introduce them.

Several caddies walked inside the adjacent white tent and grabbed bottled water, bananas, apples, and extra scorecards to stuff inside the enormous bags they toted. Many of them wet towels or donned their traditional white aprons. The more gregarious ones went through the same round of handshakes as their players.

Sometimes a golfer entered the tent too, usually for a granola or energy bar, or simply to walk off some pre-round nerves. Defending champion Justin Rose picked up a can of bug spray and coated his fair skin, though the bug that has bitten his game apparently can't be repelled so easily.

As he waited, Dean Wilson took an iron from his bag and, holding it over or behind his head, went through a series of stretching exercises. Trevor Immelman picked dirt out of his spikes with a tee, then retied his shoes. Kevin Streelman kissed his wife.

Justin Leonard yanked a driver from his bag and long before he was due to hit, took a number of practice swings. Others ignored their drivers until just before their names were announced.

Meanwhile, one PGA official was busy lining up the honorary observers and standard-bearers for the following groups, and the man who waves the directional wand (moving it right, left, or straight to indicate a drive's apparent destination) searched for the proper position.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," the voice of the Semper Hi-Fi Marine blared at 9:30 a.m., shattering the morning hush. "WELCOME TO THE AT&T NATIONAL . . ."

At that point, the three players in the first group donned their gloves. Johnson Wagner jabbed a tee into the soft ground, set a shiny white ball atop it and belted it down the severely sloping fairway's left side, kicking off the final round in the AT&T's two-year run at Aronimink.

It used to be that there were more swing varieties on the PGA Tour than shirt colors. Lee Trevino, Miller Barber, and Arnold Palmer all had funky, self-taught approaches. In the last few decades, however, more standardized teaching techniques have created more swing uniformity.

Even the golfers' pre-swing habits are virtually identical.

Immelman, the 2008 Masters champ who was the second to tee off Sunday, went through the same routine as most of those who followed. He moved about five yards behind his ball; took two practice swings; retreated a little further to face the fairway and pick out a target; strode purposefully back to his ball; and, after a few waggles of his butt and his driver, struck it soundly.

There were some variations: George McNeill took one swing and didn't gaze down the fairway; Tom Gillis took a look but no swings; Andres Romero made only one practice swing; so did Kyle Stanley, though his fairway glance was remarkably lengthy.

The weather was on most of the competitors' minds. D.J. Trahan and Joe Ogilvie both asked the PGA official stationed at the tee box about the forecast.

"How's the radar look?" Trahan asked.

"Play fast," came the reply.

The official was more specific with Ogilvie.

"Not good. Looks like 20 percent chance at 2 and 50-60 percent at 4."

The few hundred fans who moved in and out of the tee-box perimeter early in the morning were curious but respectful. But just as veteran Robert Allenby began his swing, a loud voice came from behind a hedge. Allenby hit a good shot, then, smiling, pointed in the direction of the sound and informed J.J. Henry what had happened.

Jhonattan Vegas hit the longest drive among the early groups on No. 1, prompting one spectator to remark: "You could feel the earth move on that one." Henry was one of the few who went with a 3-wood. J.B. Holmes' wayward ball struck a tree, the loud echo rebounding down the sunken fairway.

Finally, at 11:35, after the threesome of Rickie Fowler, K.J. Choi, and Nick Watney, the last group to start there, teed off, the officials departed. The winner's trophy and the roses were moved to a spot alongside the 18th green.

And the first tee went back to being just another tee.