AP – (March 2006) The practice round for the 2006 Harvest Classic is in the books. Eleven of the twelve players showed up to TPC Tampa Bay and attempted to show the course who was boss. It took about two or three holes for all the players to realize the the course would be the boss today. As was the situation in 2005, TPC Tampa Bay was just coming off a Champions Tour event the weekend prior. Needless to say the greens were more than the Harvest participants bargained for.
One shining star did seem to shine today, Vern Shukoski. The garbage cans full of practice balls have seemed to put Vern in the drivers seat coming into his biggest tournament of the year. As you can see in the photo above, Vern means business. He mysteriously transformed from a 12 handicap to a 15 just in time for the tournament. He also brought a seemingly homemade driver that is still being inspected by tournament officials. The action on Vern is off the charts on the online sports books. Hayesvision.com tried to contact Vern in the press tent after his round but he simply denied comment and said he needed to mentally prepare for tomorrows round. Stay tuned for updates tomorrow.