BETHESDA, Md. - PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem joined the chorus yesterday in praising the temporary move of the AT&T National Hosted by Tiger Woods to Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square for the next two years.

But he didn't offer much hope to the Philadelphia area for getting a full-time tour event any time beyond that.

"If you look at our calendar, we're full," Finchem told reporters yesterday at Congressional Country Club.

"We don't play in cities like Minneapolis or St. Louis or Kansas City or Portland or Seattle - or Philadelphia. There are markets we'd like to get to, and we've done some things to get there in a variety of ways."

Finchem referred to last year's FedEx Cup playoff event at Bellerive in St. Louis, and to another playoff event scheduled for 2010 at Crooked Stick outside Indianapolis, both called the BMW Championship.

Philadelphia's last PGA Tour event was the SEI Pennsylvania Classic, which was held in 2000 and 2002 at Waynesborough Country Club in Paoli. The tournament was held at Laurel Valley in the Pittsburgh area in 2001, but never returned locally after 2002.

"We couldn't find the combination of a sponsor who wanted to play in Philadelphia and a golf course that was available," Finchem said. "There might have been an opportunity a few years back, but I think that's when Aronimink went into its construction phase and was not available.

"We'd like to bring PGA Tour level golf in these markets as best as we can going forward."

So for now, the Philadelphia area will get the benefits of seeing Woods, the world's No. 1-ranked player, compete in person with other PGA Tour players at an event worth $6 million this year, plus a substantial local economic impact. Finchem said this year's event means about $30 million to the Washington area, but added he had no figure yet for next year.

The tournament is spending 2010 and 2011 at Aronimink while Congressional undergoes a renovation in preparation for hosting the 2011 U.S. Open. Finchem called Aronimink "a terrific venue," as did Woods on Tuesday.

"To be able to go to Philadelphia, where we haven't played golf for a while, on a golf course as good as Aronimink is great, and the venue is really good, too," he said. "It's a golf course where a whole lot of work has been done recently. It's very special. We're all excited about going to Philadelphia for the next two years."

Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com.