A business partner of Tiger Woods' could be responsible for bringing the road to the next winter Olympics through Bismarck.

Beau Welling, a professional golf course designer who's working on his second course with Woods, is a major fan of another sport with Scottish heritage. He's a board member for the United States Curling Association, and is one of five people who will decide which city hosts the 2009 national curling championships.

Bismarck is in the running.

USA Curling announced last week that Bismarck, Denver and Rochester, N.Y., were finalists to host the championships, which will double as the Olympic trials. Welling and USCA chief operating officer Rick Patzke were in Bismarck on Thursday to review the facilities and local amenities, and to get a feel for how popular curling is in North Dakota.

The championships, featuring five women's teams and five men's teams, will be held Feb. 20-28, 2009. The winning teams will represent the United States at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. A decision on the host site will be made by mid-September, Patzke said.

If Bismarck wants to host the event, Welling and Patzke made it clear Thursday that two criteria must be met above all others: Championship-caliber teams need top-quality rocks and ice; and the national championships should be the biggest event in town.

"I don't think the location matters so much to the curlers, because they play so many games,"Patzke said. "They're not going to be sight-seeing, let's put it that way. But if they can feel like they're part of the community, that's huge - and that's something Bismarck can offer that maybe the other communities aren't looking at."

Patzke visited Denver and its new Broomfield Events Center on Wednesday. Welling will visit with the folks in Rochester today.

Patzke was in town in 2002, when Bismarck hosted the World Curling Championships at the Civic Center. He said he was more than pleased with that event, and the quality of the new rocks and ice. This time around, the trials and national championships would be held on the hockey side of the VFW Sports Center. The curling rink next door could possibly be used for a "Fan Zone," Patzke said, where spectators could try their hand at curling, and maybe compete for prizes.

That type of fan interaction is what USA Curling is striving for.

"Every four years, there's an incredible spike in curling (interest), which coincides with the Olympics," Welling said. "We're looking at how we can take the national championship and make it a bigger, better event."

Welling said that Bismarck's smaller size could work to its advantage. He'd rather have the championships be the major showcase event in a small city, than have it get lost amid other attractions in a larger area.

Patzke said fan excitement and community buzz are two things the selection committee won't overlook. To build curling in this country, he said, you need people to know about the sport and want to take part.

"We want to raise the profile of curling in the U.S., that's our main objective,"Patzke said. "We want it to be an entertainment event, maybe have a Fan Zone or something like that, where spectators can get close to future Olympians."

Another advantage for Bismarck could be its history of hosting other major curling events, local club president John Kram said. Besides the worlds, Bismarck has hosted the senior world championships (2002), the national junior championships (2005), the men's and women's national championships (1998) and the mixed nationals (1993).

"We've adopted the motto of 'Where the champions come to play,'" Kram said. "We hope to continue that."

The Capital Curling Club joined the city's parks and recreation district and the Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau in making the pitch to the USCA in June. USA Curling received six site proposals, and pared the list to the final three a couple of weeks ago.

The USCA's selection committee hopes to make a decision before its next board meeting, in mid-September.

To see the original story, visit www.bismarck tribune.com, and search the archives for "USCA."

(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tony.spilde@;bismarcktribune.com.)