Vandals damage five greens a day before the start of PGA Tour Champions event in Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Constellation Furyk & Friends was in crisis mode around 4 a.m. on Thursday.

The issue was solved before noon due to the efforts of the tournament and Timuquana Country Club staffs and outside help from the TPC Sawgrass agronomy staff and Maccurrach Golf Construction.

Four greens on the course and one practice green were damaged in the early morning hours on Thursday by vandals wielding tools believed to be shovels or hoes.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is investigating and the PGA Tour Champions event, which will be played for the third year, will start as scheduled on Friday at 9:20 a.m.

“Obviously disappointing but the story of the day is the team effort and everyone being able to pivot,” said tournament host Jim Furyk.

Greens still have room for pins

The 10th, 12th, 16th and 17th greens had huge gouges taken out of them. The damage was discovered about 3 a.m. by a member of the Timuquana agronomy staff, who began arriving between that hour and 4 a.m. to begin preparing the course for the Thursday pro-am.

Timuquana superintendent Alan Brown, who had around 20 workers at his disposal, made a few phone calls. Within an hour, his counterpart at the TPC Sawgrass, Jeff Plots, and Maccurrach Golf owner Alan Maccurrach’s son Sonny arrived with another two dozen workers and by late morning the damage had been patched with sod.

The Thursday pro-am groups could not play the holes and played a 14-hole tournament. Additional work may be done overnight and before the first shots are struck at 9:20 a.m.

“The folks [pro-am players] come out to support us and they pay good money to come out to support us,” Furyk said. “That money goes to charity and at the end of the day, they were super, super-understanding. No one was feeling bad for themselves. They felt bad for the tournament and the club and what they went through but they went out and had a great day. They pivoted too and we’re very appreciative for that.”

I’m hearing that four greens were destroyed overnight at Timuquana CC in Jacksonville. Unclear as to how or why.

Jim Furyk’s Champions Tour event at Timuquana begins tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/79tLgqrt6O

— Casey Bannon (@CaseyFBannon) October 5, 2023

It didn’t take long for the crews from the TPC Sawgrass and MacCurracch Golf (located on the Northside) to get to Timuquana.

“MacCurrach, they’re just across the river so luckily you’ve got a great crew that’s been through a couple of renovations, and you’ve got a great crew from the TPC Sawgrass,” said Davis Love III. “So they’ll get it. The sponsors are going to have a great time, business as usual … it’s just going to look bad on a couple of holes.”

Another player in the field, Jeff Sluman, was surveying the damage on the greens and said the grounds crews and rules officials are fortunate that there are areas of the damaged green that still give them three pins for the three tournament rounds.

“It looks like they’re not going to interrupt anything,” Sluman said.

Furyk, Els praise repairs

Ernie Els, who played the morning pro-am after seeing videos of the damage, called the work by the combined crews, “amazing … they’ve done a hell of a job.”

“It was really bad,” Els said of the damage. “They really went in there. Someone was really, very angry, obviously. For them [the work crews] to do what they’ve done already is really amazing. The tournament will continue and it will be a success.”

Furyk said Brown’s agronomy staff at Timuquana has had to deal with a different issue every year. There was a deluge that interrupted the first round in 2021 and repairs were needed after Hurricane Ian brushed the area last year.

“I’ve been singing the praises of Alan Brown and his staff for three years,” Furyk said. “They’ve done an amazing job. And this morning they made some phone calls and everyone came running.”

PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said the joint effort will result in another successful tournament, in its third year.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

Furyk & Friends first round will start as scheduled

Tournament director Adam Renfroe said the vandalism hasn’t deterred the staff’s preparation for the first round of competition.

“What took place is unfortunate, as we want to represent the best of Jacksonville with this tournament,” he said in a statement. “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. We appreciate the swift action taken by the PGA Tour Champions team to make sure the course is ready for the start of the competition and look forward to fans joining us at Timuquana Country Club this weekend.”

Love was in agreement from a player’s perspective.

“The mission of this tournament isn’t going to slow down,” he said. “Tab and Jim do a great job with everything they’ve done. I just hate it for the guys with the shovels and the sod cutters because they’re going to have a long day and probably a long night.”