The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 23, 2008 - 3 CHRIS KORNACKI / OAKVILLE BEAVER GETTING READY: A grounds crew worker cuts the grass on a fairway at the Glen Abbey Golf Club on Monday to prepare the course for the RBC Canadian Open. Course closed Monday Continued from page 1 CHRIS KORNACKI / OAKVILLE BEAVER RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: A Glen Abbey grounds crew worker tries to clear away a puddle on one of the cart paths at Glen Abbey Golf Club on Monday. BATHROOM RENOVATIONS? GIVE YOUR BATHROOM THE FACTORY TILE TOUCH See our design team to transform your space We specialize in importing and supplying quality Granite, Caesarstone, Marble, Ceramics, Porcelain and Natural Stone Ask about our Custom Glass Shower Doors & Floor Heating Tile selection made enjoyable! FACTORY TILE DEPOT 1360 Speers Road, Oakville (East of third line) Factory Tile Depot 905.465.1650 Mon.-Thurs., 9:30-6, Fri. 9:30-5, Sat., 10-5, Closed Sun. www.factorytiledepot.ca situation, as the course received about four-and-a-half inches of rain over the weekend. "I knew there was going to be rain on Saturday and Sunday, but I didn't know there was going to be that much rain," Paul said. "However, we always have contingency plans for all our staff and our volunteers in the case that it does rain." The man responsible for getting the course back to par is Scott Bowman, golf course superintendent. Staying calm and collected amidst dozens of workers in the maintenance yard, Bowman gave precise orders to every hand on deck early Monday afternoon as ominous rain clouds passed overhead. The grounds crew for the week consists of 40 full-time Glen Abbey staff, 20 volunteers and 10 volunteers from surrounding courses. "Some of the guys beat me to work this morning and were here by 4 a.m. and we all started at about quarter to five," Bowman said. "We pumped the bunkers out, have raked them twice, greens are getting double-cut today, since we couldn't cut yesterday, and we're getting ready now to cut some fairways. But the conditions are actually pretty good, considering four-and-a-half inches of rain." Another problem facing Bowman and his team on Sunday and Monday was Sixteen Mile Creek, which was still flowing through the course at a high level on Monday afternoon. It broke the bank at hole 12 and washed out the players' walking bridge at hole 13. Workers were busy replacing the bridge planks on Monday afternoon. "Not too many holes really concern me right now, as long as the river stays down," Bowman said. "The guys have been unbelievable and they are the best staff I've ever had. We called them in twice yesterday and sent them home twice. They came again this morning bright-eyed and bushy tailed and the volunteers have also been unbelievable." Although there will be lost revenue from the reduction of spectators passing through the gates on Monday, a major concern for Paul was the cancellation of the Monday Pro-Am, featuring 26 pros, and the cancellation of practice rounds, which would have attracted about another 50 golfers, he said. "The Pro-Am is a huge part of our week, but we can't do it tomorrow (Tuesday) because there's a lot of players wanting to get a practice round in," he said. "We have plans to rerun the ProAm at some point in time. The earliest it could be is (next) Monday or we'll do something in the fall." All Monday tickets and grounds passes will be honoured on Wednesday, according to organizers. The Pengrowth Pro-Am is slated for that day with a 7 a.m. start. Weather forecasters are calling for scattered showers on and off until Thursday and again on Saturday. Paul said that attendance may be impacted by weather, but he is hopeful that it will be less damp than expected. "I think any time you have an outdoor event, the weather is going to impact it, but we've got a lot of promotion out there and a great venue, great field and a great tournament," Paul said. "I think if the weather is even decent, we'll have great numbers." One aspect of the Open that will not be affected by weather is the evening concert series slated for Thursday night with Blue Rodeo, Friday evening with 54-40 and Saturday night with Tom Cochrane. Admission to the concerts is free with an RBC Canadian Open ticket or pass. The RBC Canadian Open was held in September for many years before being moved to a summer date. Despite this week's forecast, Paul expects the event to be a hit, especially among families. A new feature this year in conjunction with the date is that children under 15 receive free admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult. "I've got more kids up here than we've ever had in September," he said. There are rain contingency plans in place for the actual tournament, which runs Thursday through Sunday. "We're going to be ready for tee-off first thing in the morning on Thursday, but if there's any rain or inclement weather and we have to evacuate the players, we will, but we're going to try and get as much play in as we can," Paul said. "Another great plus having it in July is that there is so much more daytime." As for the course itself, Paul said it will play differently than if there was clear skies and hot, dry weather. "The course won't be as hard and fast," he said. "Now you've got the fairways soft, so the ball won't roll as much and the greens are soft, so they'll affect the balls too." Bowman said he's keeping his fingers crossed that the weather forecast is wrong. "We're as prepared as we can be for the rest of the week," he said. "We're ready for anything now after dealing with this." The Canadian Open runs until July 27 at Glen Abbey Golf Club, 1333 Dorval Dr. For tickets or information, go online to www.thecanadianopen.ca.