Among the devastation Hurricane Katrina left behind in New Orleans were the civic pieces needed for a restoration like Atlantans have seen at East Lake. Folks from the area where this week's Tour Championship is being played are connecting with their counterparts in New Orleans to see if another "golf with a purpose" project could resuscitate a blighted area.

"The opportunity would not be here without Katrina, or had the East Lake model not been here," said Gerry Barousse Jr., 48, president of Monarch Real Estate Advisors, who seeks to play a role in New Orleans like developer Tom Cousins did at East Lake.