Press Tent: Greens OK at Nelson after hailstorm

Greens OK at Nelson after hailstorm

IRVING, Texas -- According to the Dallas Morning News, the powerful thunderstorms that struck the Dallas area Tuesday night left more than 70,000 area residents without electricity as high winds knocked down trees and power lines. The paper also reported that a man was killed near downed power lines, approximately 10,000 air travelers were stranded at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport and the Texas Rangers' game against the Chicago White Sox was delayed for about three hours. At one point, the field was pelted with golf ball-size hail.

At the TPC Four Seasons, site of this week's HP Byron Nelson Championship, downed tree branches, garbage and small pieces of debris were easily cleaned up Wednesday morning. Repairing hail damage, however, was a much bigger job.

"It was a mess; I don't know if I have ever seen anything like it," said Slugger White, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competitions . "The hail was about half the size of baseballs, and it beat everything up pretty well. My admiration goes out to [superintendent] John Cunningham and his crew. They did just a great job getting this place playable again this morning with just an hour delay."

White wasn't exaggerating. Gary Woodland, winner of this season's Transitions Championship , posted the picture below on his Twitter feed Tuesday night of a piece of hail that fell outside his hotel.

The hail damaged several greens, leaving pockmarks scattered across the putting surfaces. "They had about 10 or 12 guys out there this morning, just going from front to back trying to fix what looked like ball marks," White said. "Then they rolled them after that, so we're just going to see what happens tonight." The photo shows the damage done to the 18th green.

White said the greens may need extra water Wednesday evening to make them a little more receptive to the rollers. He also said most of the course's bunkers were washed out, so the grounds crew had to shovel the mud off the surface and rake the sand into place.