The field of the Nationwide Tour's Mylan Classic used Tuesday's practice round to familiarize with Southpointe Golf Club before the tournament begins Thursday.

Because this is the first Mylan Classic, few competitors have played the course. After a round to sort through it, they learned that the deep rough places a premium on straight tee shots.

"The rough is good this week, so that's going to be the challenge of the golf course," Jason Enloe of Dallas said. "If there was no rough it wouldn't be that difficult because it's not that long."

The course will play at 6,946 yards with five new tee boxes that lengthened some holes, but four of the par 4s are less than 400 yards. This makes the rough crucial in adding teeth to the golf course.

"Get in the fairway off the tee," said Emmitt Turner of Augusta, Ga. "You're going to have a hard time playing out of the rough."

Southpointe had to close seven of the greens earlier this summer to work them back into playing shape and fired its superintendent. Some greens sport new sod patches that blend in with the existing turf.

"That was actually the smoothest of the grass, seemed like it rolled pretty good through that stuff," Enloe said. "The other stuff just seems like it's not very smooth and not very fast."

The players had mixed reactions regarding the quality of the greens, but agreed that they played better than what they had heard.

"They're slower than what we're used to," said William McGirt of Boiling Springs, S.C. "They actually rolled pretty smooth."

"They've had a tough time here with the golf course," said Phil Tataurangi from Taupo, New Zealand. "To be fair, the reports I've heard were worse than what I see."

The greens played slow, but the players believed they would speed up as the week progressed.

"By the end of the week I think it will be a non-issue," McGirt said. "It could change, but I don't think it will be that bad."

The undulations and false fronts on the greens make approaching them difficult, but those same undulations, McGirt said, could force the pins into the center of the green and create lower scores.

Moving the tee boxes back created interesting options off the tee, something the players focused on during their practice rounds.

The par-4 16th hole now plays at 413 yards, meaning players must drive the ball 325 yards to carry a brook that crosses the fairway.

"The creek is in the perfect spot," Turner said. "It's right in the landing area, so you have to figure out where to hit the tee shot."

The 506-yard sixth hole, usually a par 5, will play as a par 4 this week.

The tournament's winner will score well, McGirt said, regardless of condition of the course or the players' level of familiarity with it.

"Somebody's going to shoot 64," he said. "Doesn't matter how hard or how easy it is, somebody's going to shoot it. Might as well be you, you know?"

The Golf Channel will televise all four rounds of the tournament.

• Event: Mylan Classic, Southpointe Golf Club, Canonsburg.

• When: Thursday-Sunday.

• TV: Golf Channel, 3 p.m. Thursday; 12:30 p.m. Friday; 12 a.m. Saturday (tape); 1 p.m. Sunday.

• Purse: $600,000, with the winner earning $108,000.

• Of note: The first tee times are at 7:20 a.m. Thursday.

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