SAWGRASS CHOOSES TIFEAGLE FOR 2017 TPC

TPC Sawgrass, home of the Players Championship and host of the Web.Com Tour now has TifEagle greens on both the Stadium and Valley courses. The TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course underwent its second major renovation in four years, this time to the putting surfaces beginning after the final round of The Players Championship on May 8, 2016. Two days later, workers began scraping the MiniVerde bermudagrass off the greens and replacing it with the TifEagle bermudagrass that was installed on the Dye’s Valley Course during its renovation in 2014.

TPC Sawgrass general manager Bill Hughes said the project was to further enhance the playing conditions for the best field in golf at the PGA Tour’s major championship, which has been contested at the Stadium Course since 1982.“Without question, The Players Championship has evolved to be one of the most significant championships in professional golf over these past 40 years, ”Hughes said. It is very important that we do everything possible in not only maintaining [The Players] stature in golf but elevating it when possible. This renovation project is certain to take this championship to another level.”

Hughes said the TifEagle will hold up to cold, damp winters better than the MiniVerde and is equal to MiniVerde during hot months. Last year, a combination of rain, cold, more cloudy days than normal and a misapplication of chemicals hampered the growth of the greens leading up to The Players. A handful of the greens were closed during practice rounds.

Hughes said the design of the greens will not change but the Tour’s Agronomy staff is studying the possibility of enlarging several of the smaller greens to provide more pin positions. Among the candidates are the ninth and 12th holes which were among the more troublesome greens in bouncing back from the winter last year.