During one heckuva busy afternoon, Eagle Bend Golf Course superintendent Kerry Golden took compliments from the LPGA Futures Tour players who arrived Tuesday morning in Lawrence.

Eagle Bend is in prime shape, which Golden said was thanks to extra man-hours by his assistants — Richard Henley and Rick Caldwell — and the rest of the staff.

Two major changes came on fairways and greens to make the course more challenging. Eagle Bend’s typically spacious, long fairways were shrunk so the wide-open course would favor straight and long hitters equally — a renovation Golden said he had planned to make regardless.

The changes made to the greens were typical of a public course prepping for a tournament — they’ve been made faster.

With the measurement of a stimpmeter, which judges the speed of a green, Golden is hoping to have the greens at a challenging speed for Sunday’s final round.

“We lower the height of cut on them, and we’ll double-cut the greens,” Golden said.

“We reduced the amount of fertilizer we put on the green, so we’re not going to have a real thick, fast-growing turf,” Golden said. “Lean in fertilizer to speed them up.”

The greens will not remain as slick Monday once the course reopens to the public.

Another reason many players liked Eagle Bend after last weekend’s tournament in El Paso, Texas, was the less-intense Kansas wind. The breeze always can play a factor at Eagle Bend, but even at its worst it won’t be wild as the West Texas wind.

LPGA Futures Tour golfer Kyeong Bae, left, watches a putt with her father and coach, Chan Soo Bae, during a practice round for the Lawrence Futures Classic. Golfers played practice rounds Tuesday at Eagle Bend Golf Course in preparation for the tournament.

Winds got up to 45 mph during last weekend’s play and prompted wind advisories from the National Weather Service, creating havoc for balls in the air and on the green. At one point, Sasha Medina of Ponce, Puerto Rico, had a 4-foot putt roll back to its original position after she hit it.

Even worse was when Allie Blomquist was forced to remove her contact lenses because of the heavy winds and finish her round hampered by limited visibility.

What Mother Nature has in store for this weekend is uncertain. The Eagle Bend staff has done its part, and Golden expects a fan-friendly event.

They’ve made the course tougher, but it’s still pretty darned inviting.

“I think there’ll be some good scores, I can’t honestly remember the AJGA event we had here a few years ago, but there were some good scores, which honestly I like to see,” Golden said. “For all golfers, if you score well, that keeps you coming back, and there’s more enjoyment in the golf course.”

Virada Nirapathpongporn watches another player's drive during a practice session Tuesday at Eagle Bend.

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K-Staters in field: The Lawrence Futures Classic’s 144-player field will feature a pair of Kansas Staters. K-State senior Sarah Heffel won the tournament’s qualifying round April 17 at Eagle Bend. She will be joined by Futures Tour rookie Christine Boucher, who finished her Wildcat career in 2004.

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NP3 leader: After 12 rounds of competition, Virada Nirapathpongporn of Bangkok, Thailand, holds the Futures Tour’s low scoring average at 71.167. Next are Koreans Seon-Hwa Lee (71.417), Kyeong Bae (71.5), Hye Jung Choi (71.667) and Sun Young Yoo at 72.00. All three are among the favorites to win the Lawrence Futures Classic.

LPGA Futures golfer Aimee Cho chips during a practice round Tuesday at Eagle Bend Golf Course.

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Clinic: The Futures Tour Youth Clinic will take place from 4-5 p.m. today at Eagle Bend, which follows the professionals’ practice round.