Steve Stricker looks for another big week at Constellation Furyk & Friends

Adam Renfroe keeps wondering if the novelty will ever wear off.

But if it hasn’t by now, the Constellation Furyk & Friends may well have become a First Coast staple for years in the future.

The PGA Tour Champions event at the historic Timuquana Country Club, hosted by the Jim and Tabitha Furyk Foundation, will be played for the third time Oct. 6-8, with the same trappings it has enjoyed since its inaugural year on the schedule in 2021.

Defending champion Steve Stricker will have to hold off a field loaded with World Golf Hall of Fame members, major champions and Players Champions, at a Donald Ross course that fits a veteran’s game: well-placed drives, strategic approach shots below the hole of the small, push-up greens and creative short games and putting.

Packed field: Furyk & Friends will include six Hall of Fame members, 14 major champions

It’s how Phil Mickelson and Stricker won the first two years and it likely will remain the same strategy for any winner.

At stake is a $315,000 first prize from a total purse of $2.1 million. Golf Channel will air the first and second rounds from 2-4 p.m. and the final round on a tape-delay basis on Oct. 8 from 9:30-11:30 p.m.

Joining Stricker, who is running away from the pack in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, will be players such as Furyk, a 17-time PGA Tour winner and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, Hall of Fame members such as Vijay Singh, Davis Love III, Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer and Ernie Els, and major champions David Duval, Mike Weir, Tom Lehman and Mark Calcavecchia.

“We love the golf course,” Furyk said during the tournament’s media day on Aug. 28. “I think we’re fortunate to be here at Timuquana … the course plays a big part. The players love it. They say it’s fair but difficult, which separates a field very quickly.”

Strong field brings in fans

Renfroe, the tournament’s executive director, said the course attracts the players. The loaded list of players attracts the fans. Then it’s up to the tournament to keep the fans engaged with what they’re seeing inside the ropes and what they can enjoy outside the ropes.

“Sometimes the newness wears off a tournament but that hasn’t happened here,” he said. “And this tournament has become a point of pride for Jacksonville and Duval County. Yes, The Players Championship is wonderful for the area, but it’s in Ponte Vedra Beach, in St. Johns County. They have the beach. In this tournament, we can focus on downtown, on the [St. Johns] River and show another side to the First Coast.”

Renfroe’s staff must be doing something right. The PGA Tour Champions players voted the Furyk & Friends “The Players Award,” given annually to the event they believe is the best on their tour.

“We don’t do this for accolades, but it was very humbling to be recognized by the players,” Renfroe said.

Private hospitality sold out weeks ago, two of the three pro-ams sold out and the Monday pro-am is nearly sold out and a limited number of tickets for venues such as Club 58 (in honor of Furyk’s record 18-hole score on the PGA Tour) remain. Grounds tickets are still available by visiting constellationfurykandfriends.com.

Golf only part of the week

Away from the field of play is the Kids Zone, which includes a petting zoo sponsored by the Jacksonville Zoo, the Baptist Family Lounge and the Publix Tailgate Village, which will have college and the NFL on two videoboards — including the Jaguars game vs. Buffalo in London on the morning of Oct. 8, for early birds who want to watch the Jags in the morning and golf in the afternoon.

“We pride ourselves on having an event where we have something for everyone, especially our families,” said Tabitha Furyk.

Children 17 years and younger are admitted free with a ticketed adult, with no limit to how many accompany the adult. The tournament also admits the Military and their families free.

Tournament helps a variety of charities

Also giving the tournament luster is more than $2 million donated to charity in the first two years, going to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Hope for the Holidays, the St. Johns Riverkeeper, the First Tee-North Florida, the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, Blessings in a Backpack and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

“This tournament really highlights the thing we’re proud of, impacting a community in a positive way,” said Constellation executive vice president Jim McHugh. “Giving back is a value that’s shared by Constellation and Jim and Tabitha.”

The first day for the public will be Friday’s first round. Gates open Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m.

Tournament week also includes a concert with multi-platinum artist Dustin Lynch at Daily’s Place near EverBank Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Some ticket and hospitality packages include concert tickets but they also can be purchased separately at the Furyk & Friends website.