We mentioned it in the morning roundup, but it’s worth celebrating this news with a post of its own: D.C. is getting a golf tournament.

And not just any golf tournament! No, as the Post reports, we’ve somehow lucked into hosting a new PGA Tour event put on by the Tiger Woods Foundation. The Post sports folks are beside themselves — both Boswell and Wilbon have columns today rhapsodizing about the new event.

We can’t say we blame them. For whatever reason, Washington hasn’t been much of a golf town. The Kemper Open, which eventually became the Booz Allen Classic, closed up shop in 2006 after a frustrating 38-year run. Although a nice enough event on its own terms, that tournament’s tendency to be scheduled shortly before the U.S. Open meant that many top stars skipped it in favor of practicing for the upcoming major. Hopefully that will now change: a combination of more favorable scheduling and Woods’ star power seems likely to translate into a relatively star-studded field (although Woods’ pregnant wife’s due date means that he may miss the tournament’s inaugural edition). A location hasn’t been decided on, but the Post says that the tour has its eye on Congressional Country Club.

We’re sure that some DCist readers may be less excited by this news than we are. But if you haven’t, give the sport a chance — you might find you like it. Many a golf-skeptic has been surprised at the speed with which they transitioned from playing hungover games of Mario Golf on their frat house couch to handing Ernie Els enormous novelty checks on behalf of a multinational corporation. Sure, the game may be elitist, expensive and terrible for the environment. But there’s a lot to be said for wandering around an enormous lawn on a sunny day with a drink in your hand.

So welcome to Washington, Tiger. We look forward to bellowing encouragement at you from the edge of the tee box.

Image by Flickr user R’eyes’, used under a Creative Commons license