MATT KUCHAR WAS THE FIRST to see them as he was walking to the 2nd hole, a 214-yard par 3. Then Martin Laird, Charley Hoffman and Paul Casey. By the end of the first round, nearly all 30 players in the field of the season-ending Tour Championship reported sightings of a bizarre grass pattern at East Lake Golf Club, sort of golf’s version of crop circles.Oddly, no one besides the players noticed anything unusual about the East Lake turf, a combination of zoysiagrass fairways and bentgrass greens.
The grounds crew had no explanation.
“The course is certainly in pristine condition,” said a supervisor, “but otherwise everything is normal, including mowing patterns.”
(Image at left is simulated based on players’ descriptions.)
Aerial photography also failed to reveal any unusual phenomenon.
“If I had been staring at the ground since the Sony Open, I would probably be seeing things, too,” offered a spectator.
−The Armchair Golfer
