BETHESDA, Md. - Celebrities come to the Washington area everyday, but few are bigger than Tiger Woods.

The sea of cars on River Road turned into a sea of spectators at The Congressional Country Club as hordes of golf fans eagerly trailed Tiger Woods on day one of the AT&T National tournament.

Tiger woods, host and playing in the tournament, delighted fans from the very start. As intently as Tiger studied the hole, spectators studied him with fans maneuvering their way in order to get a glimpse of golf's best.

"I live over in Baltimore [and to] stop by here, see the best player on earth, this is fantastic! What a day!" said Tom Snyder.

But it was David Regan who may have traveled the farthest for Tiger. He flew in from Switzerland to treat his dad for his 79th birthday gift. Regan calls today one of the highlights of his life. "This is right up there (laughing)!" Regan said.

One lucky 12-year-old girl from Chevy Chase went to a clinic Wednesday where Woods doled out free advice. "He gave us a few hits on how to hit the ball nicely," the girl said.

"It's a big crowd but we seem to be able to get pretty close to the green to see him so it works out pretty well," said Alexandria (web | news) resident Dawn Gurganus.

The star-studded day in Washington was also marked by a care package-stuffing party for the troops serving over in Iraq (web | news) and Afghanistan.

"We've had a steady stream all day. We're probably going to stuff between 1,000-1,300 today," said Lockheed Martin Spokesperson Tracy Carter Dougherty.

The AT&T National wraps up Sunday. Last year more than 100,000 people came out to watch the tournament that generated nearly $17M for Montgomery County (web | news) .

 Email To Friend