JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four greens at Timuquana Country Club were vandalized overnight Thursday, one day before the PGA Tour Champions Constellation Furyk & Friends event was scheduled to tee off.
The event spent Thursday morning repairing the damaged greens so the tournament could go off on Friday as scheduled. Portions of Thursday’s Pro-Am had to avoid the damaged greens on hole Nos. 10, 12, 16 and 17.
It took a massive amount of help from all over the area, including volunteers from TPC Sawgrass and MacCurrach Golf who stepped up Thursday morning to help get the damaged areas back in tournament shape. The PGA Tour said it had roughly 50 grounds crew on site to help with the greens.
In a statement, PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady praised the work of the grounds crew to get the damaged sections of greens back in playable condition.
I’m hearing that four greens were destroyed overnight at Timuquana CC in Jacksonville. Unclear as to how or why.
— Casey Bannon (@CaseyFBannon) October 5, 2023
Jim Furyk’s Champions Tour event at Timuquana begins tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/79tLgqrt6O
“PGA TOUR Champions Rules and Competitions have been working with the tournament team and the outstanding Timuquana Country Club staff to repair the damages to the course,” he said. “Thanks to their efforts, we will have the course ready for the first round of competition tomorrow morning. We encourage everyone in the Jacksonville community to come out and support this great event and the charitable work of Jim and Tabitha Furyk throughout Northeast Florida. Any additional questions about the incident should be made to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.”
The Furyk & Friends event, started by golfer Jim Furyk and his wife, Tabitha, has been a champion for charity since its inception. The tournament has generated more than $2.5 million in charitable impact. The Furyks, who live in Jacksonville, have focused on charitable efforts for years. Their nonprofit Furyk Foundation has been heavily involved in work with Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Blessings in a Backpack and Community PedsCare.
Tournament Director Adam Renfroe condemned the vandalism but praised the work of the PGA Tour Champions crew to get the damaged greens repaired.
“What took place is unfortunate, as we want to represent the best of Jacksonville with this tournament. We won’t let the actions of a few individuals take away from a great week for our city and our ability to give back and create impact here in the community,” he said. “We appreciate the swift action taken by the PGA TOUR Champions team to make sure the course is ready for the start of competition and look forward to fans joining us at Timuquana Country Club this weekend.”