Crews battle heavy rain ahead of FedEx St. Jude Championship tournament

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Memphis is one day away from the start of the FedEx St. Jude Championship tournament!

With the rain the Bluff City has been getting, tournament leaders are executing their severe weather plans.

In case there’s more rain in the forecast, the PGA tour does have signage and an inclement weather plan in place, but some of the real work is done behind the scenes by a group of men and women who make sure the course is ready to go, whether you’re a spectator or a pro.

In case of an August shower, tournament leaders have put a weather alert scale around areas of the course to communicate weather severity to spectators and golfers. The most severe level involves closing the course for the day.

The course already got a test run on Tuesday when a few inches of rain hit the course.

One day later, crews were cleaning up what was left behind.

Golf Course Maintenance Director Nick Bisanz says areas on and off the green were underwater from the storm.

His group of 50 maintenance staff and volunteers spent their Wednesday morning putting the course back in shape.

“We spent a lot of hours this morning cleaning up,” said Bisanz. “Cleaning up around drains, cleaning up around lake banks, putting bunkers back together. They washed out. The sand moves. We spent a lot of hours doing that backbreaking work.”

Bisanz and the grounds crew worked hard on the front and back nine for golf fans, pros, and volunteers.

“I would like to thank all the volunteers who come out and participate in our crew,” said Bisanz. “They put in all the time and effort to come to the event, so it’s truly a team effort and a team win for us.”

The PGA Tour says a meteorologist will be at every PGA Tour tournament and will be actively monitoring the radar at all times and relaying real-time information to tournament officials.

Weather updates will also be on the on-course scoreboards.

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