Tune in! SRO Greens will decide first major winner at 2020 PGA Championship

Seed Research of Oregon grasses are featured on the course at the TPC Harding Park Golf Club in San Francisco, California this month.

Tyee and 007 Creeping Bentgrass varieties were blended and seeded at West Coast Turf’s farms in California. As part of a total course renovation, the mature creeping bentgrass sod was harvested and planted on the renovated greens at TPC Harding Park in late 2013 and early 2014. SRO Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass varieties were seeded on the rest of the course during the renovation to bring the course into PGA tournament standards.

The Tyee + 007 Creeping Bentgrass Blend was selected after successes at other California courses, including the nearby Olympic Club. Both varieties perform well to keep out Poa annua and provide fast and smooth greens surfaces year-round. With over 70,000 rounds of golf each year, and shaded reduced sunlight conditions during the year, bentgrasses that can outcompete Poa annua and perform 12 months of the year were needed. We look forward to watching this exciting tournament, and acknowledge all of the hard work by Golf Superintendent Almar Valenzuela, Agronomy Manager Geoff Plovanich and their maintenance crew. Using simpler inputs to turn out a consistent high quality golfing experience for local golfers, as well as tournament players.

The host course this week for the 2020 PGA Championship reports high quality putting green surfaces for a top lineup of International and American golfers. This includes two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka.

Photos show the healthy freshly harvested Tyee/007 Creeping Bentgrass sod being planted on the renovated greens to replace the prior unreliable Poa annua greens surfaces.

photos - Greg Dunn, West Coast Turf