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…
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