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Even before the first golfer swings a club at this year's AT&T National golf tournament, one participant will already be a winner.

"It's a huge shot in the arm to our tourism industry," said Steve Silverman, director of Montgomery County Department of Economic Development.

"It's got an enormous impact on our hotels and restaurants," Silverman said. "Then of course there's enormous benefit to the county of the national exposure."

The tournament draws more than 150,000 people annually, many of whom stay in county hotels, eat at local restaurants and shop at local retailers while they are in town.

A study in 2007 showed golf visitors spent nearly $8 million in restaurants and retail shops and nearly $3 million at hotels.

Those revenues also produce additional taxes for the county, estimated to be about $800,000 each tournament.

"We're expecting to do good numbers if the weather cooperates," Silverman said.

Montgomery County has a tent at the event and uses it to invite prospective business owners considering relocating to the county, Silverman said.

While the tournament invitation by itself is not going to cause a business to relocate to the county, it does help create a good overall impression on the county, he said.

"Everything is a piece of the puzzle," he said. "You're talking about developing relationships. Is that by itself going to make a difference? Of course not. It's another tool in the tool box. A company is not going to come to Montgomery County because the CEO came to see Tiger Woods play golf, but it brings them here to talk about the county."

The tournament also has a tail, in that people who come to the county to attend the PGA Tour event might decide to return again in the future to see other Washington, D.C.-area sights, Silverman said.

Steven McDaniel, a professor of sports marketing at the University of Maryland, College Park, agreed.

"The economic impact isn't just the immediate one, but it is also for destination tourism in exposing people to the area for tourism and can influence people to travel back to the D.C. Metro area for other vacations," McDaniel said.

The economic impact of an event like the AT&T National is tremendous, he said.

"That's why cities often clamor to get events," he said.

People who play and follow golf also tend to be a more affluent demographic than other sporting events, he said.

"Golf is an interesting type of event in how it is staged," he said. "A golf tournament is a multi-day event, so unlike single-day events you bring people here for longer too. So they spend more on hotels, food, et cetera than if it'd be a single game."