Wilson is RiverTowne's man under the gun

MOUNT PLEASANT — It's the golf course superintendent's mantra — "We try to keep the course in tournament-ready conditions all the time."

For RiverTowne's Robert Wilson, that has been the case since becoming the superintendent at the Arnold Palmer-designed course. The LPGA players have been complimentary of the efforts by Wilson and his staff in getting RiverTowne ready for the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika.

"When we initially started, we had to expand the driving range and some of the practice areas, make it more convenient," Wilson said. "We did some adjustment on some of the tee complexes to get the proper yardages that the rules officials wanted. But once we got that done, everything is pretty much well set.

"We try to keep the golf course in tournament playing conditions year-round. We really don't do anything different."

Wilson, a native of Lake Lure, N.C., graduated from N.C. State in 1987 with two degrees in agronomy and has been in the golf course business since. He helped grow in the course in the United Arab Emirates where the Dubai Desert Classic is played.

Wilson said small adjustments actually begin in the fall of the previous years where rye grass rates are adjusted in anticipation of the tournament. Among the touchup work is letting the sand in the bunkers pack and get firm because that's the way the players like them. They hand rake the bunkers during the tournament as opposed to using machines. The main desire is consistency.

Wilson normally oversees a staff of about two dozen, but during tournament week there will be 40 to 45 people working on the maintenance crew. Some are volunteers from Patriots Point and Dunes West. Employees at other Ginn properties also pitch in, a favor Wilson will return when tournaments are held at the other properties.

Last year's tournament was dealt a big weather blow when Tropical Depression Barry dumped three inches of rain on Saturday night and buffeted the course with winds up to 52 mph. The wind toppled television camera towers on 10 and 18, resulting in equipment loss estimated at $200,000.

"The bunkers were probably the worst because with the rain we had a lot of wash," he said. "We had to pump a few of them out and a lot of debris had to be cleaned up. The rules officals came around and said we were going to play, so we probably had 50 people out there (Sunday morning). But it turned out good."

But Wilson would just as soon he and his staff didn't have to deal with such a situation this year. And for now, the weather forecast looks outstanding.

Happy Birthday!

Kristy McPherson, who grew up in Conway and graduated from South Carolina, turns 27 today. She was a three-time All-American for the Gamecocks and won seven college titles. McPherson tees off at 10:30 a.m. today in the pro-am. She is one of three South Carolina players in the field. Sherri Turner, 51, grew up in Greenville and was an All-American at Furman, while Reilley Rankin of Hilton Head Island was a three-time All-American at Georgia.

Things Annika is going to miss

Annika Sorenstam announced two weeks ago she was stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the season. On Tuesday she was asked if there are things she'll really miss by not playing.

"Packing? Restaurants? Airports?," she said with a laugh.

"It's the competition I will miss the most, though. I will miss the people out here and the friendship. Hopefully, I will continue with some of that and still be involved in the game, so I'm hoping to pick up the good stuff and enjoy."

Power pairing

Pairings for Thursday and Friday have been released, and Ginn Tribute fans will get an opportunity to watch No. 1 Lorena Ochoa and No. 2 Sorenstam go head-to-head. They are paired with Hall of Famer Juli Inkster and will start at 12:54 p.m. Thursday on No. 1 and at 9:16 a.m. Friday on No. 10.

Pro-Am Times

Thirty-two teams are participating in today's pro-am, which begins at 7 a.m. All teams will start on the first hole.

7 a.m. - Natalie Gulbis; 7:10 - Brittany Lang; 7:20 - Diana D'Alessio; 7:30 - Angela Stanford; 7:40 - Na Yeon Choi; 7:50 - Jeong Jang; 8:00 - Annika Sorenstam; 8:10 - Yani Tseng; 8:30 - Nicole Castrale; 8:40 - Christina Kim; 8:50 - Cristie Kerr; 9:00 - Paula Creamer; 9:10 - Reilly Rankin; 9:20 - Suzann Pettersen; 9:30 - Laura Diaz; 9:40 - Johanna Head; 10:00 - Lorena Ochoa; 10:10 - Juli Inkster; 10:20 - Louise Friberg; 10:30 - Kristy McPherson; 10:40 - Morgan Pressel; 10:50 - Lindsey Wright; 11:00 - Minea Blomqvist; 11:10 - Seon Hwa Lee; 11:30 - Karen Stupples; 11:40 - Karrie Webb; 11:50 - Song-Hee Kim; 12:00 p.m. - Karin Sjodin; 12:10 Inbee Park; 12:20 Stacy Prammanasudh; 12:30 - Teresa Lu; 12:40 - Jee Young Lee.

Tommy Braswell