(WXYZ) — Detroit and the metro area have been hit with lots of rain over the past week, which has led to a soft and sometimes wet golf course at Detroit Golf Club, the home of the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Several inches of rain have fallen since Thursday, and Patrick Reed, one of the top-ranked golfers in the world, praised the superintendents at the course for their work.
"I think the biggest thing is I'm super impressed with how they were able to get this golf course in as good of shape as they have with the storms that have hit, how nasty the weather has been here late last week and during the weekend," Reed said.
He added that he saw photos of the holes on Saturday and called them "brutal," saying that some areas looked like lakes and ponds, and some areas were under water.
"The amount of water that was there was a huge amount. To come out and play and just find a couple wet spots there in the rough, it was very impressive how they were able to get the water out and the job that they were able to do to allow the place to drain and get the water out of there," he added.
The scores at the tournaments the past two years have been low. Nate Lashley won the inaugural tournament in 2019 with a score of -25. Last year, Bryson DeChambeau won the tournament with a score of -23.
According to Reed, after practice rounds early this week, the fairways and greens are very soft and the ball isn't rolling much but said the conditions are still "perfect.
"Got to give all the credit to the superintendents and the people around here to get this place in that good of shape," he added.
Reed isn't sure how low scoring will be. He said that balls aren't going to take off like they did with firm fairways in previous years, and the greens were soft in the first year. Last year, the greens were firmer and the rough was grown out more.
"Being as soft as it is, there's going to be longer clubs to certain greens, but you're still going to be able to attack. If the weather's nice, I would still think you have to shoot at least 17, 16 under to win this golf tournament," he said.
