Outrage (!) greens vandalised ahead of PGA Tour Champions event

A senseless act of vandalism put the opening day of Jim Furyk's Champions Tour event in jeopardy after four greens were torn to pieces at Timuquana Country Club.

Johnny Percival

06 Oct 2023

Only hours before the start of the PGA Tour Champions’ Constellation Furyk & Friends at Timuquana Country Club, an agronomist at the course was shocked when he discovered that the 10th, 12th, 16th and 17th greens had been ripped apart by vandals.

With only a matter of hours to spare before the tournament was supposed to start, the Timuquana superintendent went into overdrive, reaching out to courses in the local Jacksonville area to receive assistance in getting the greens back to their former glory.

⛳️⛏️ 4 greens were vandalized last night at @TimuquanaCC, the host venue for Jim Furyk’s Champions Tour event tomorrow. (Via: @CaseyFBannon)
What’s the punishment for this? pic.twitter.com/0Jn6cQIMpU
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) October 5, 2023

The call for help was answered by greenskeepers at TPC Sawgrass and Maccurrach Golf, and the team worked tirelessly to repair the damage by patching it with sod.

While the greens were repaired to an excellent standard, they were not used for the Pro-am on Thursday but have been cleared for use today when the tournament begins.

Discussing the damage, tournament director Adam Renfroe, said:

“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.”

Host of the tournament, Jim Furyk, received a call in the early hours of Thursday to alert him to the damage, but upon arrival at the course, he was delighted to see the outstanding repair work that had been carried out.

Crews scramble to repair greens at Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS - PGA TOUR https://t.co/JvJUC8h8gs
— Shane Wright, CGCS (@Shanewrightcgcs) October 5, 2023

Four-time major winner Ernie Els is in the field for the event, and he was shocked by the damage but equally impressed with the amazing repair work.

He said:

"The damage was really bad. They really went in there. Someone was really, very angry, obviously. For the team to do what they’ve done already is really amazing. The tournament will continue and it will be a success.”

This isn't the first time the agronomy team at Timuquana Country Club have been called in to do some last-minute repair work, as only last year the course suffered damage at the hands of Hurricane Ian before the Champions Tour event was set to begin.

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