There are about four months left until the first tee times. They recently announced ticket pricing, how to get them, and everything that’s included for the paying customer.
So, you might assume about a professional golf tournament, it’s time to get to work. But coordinating events like the Constellation Furyk & Friends, the PGA Tour Champions event coming to Palm Coast and Hammock Beach this fall, is a year-round chore.
And yes, this time, there’s a Tiger Woods contingency.
The longtime relationship between Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods might (or might not) play a role in a potential Tiger entry into October’s PGA Tour Champions event in Palm Coast.
“We’ve thought and obviously planned for that scenario,” tournament director Adam Renfroe said this week, while noting all of the hurdles and unchecked boxes standing between today and a possible entry for Tiger, who turned 50 last December and became age-eligible for Champions events.
Tiger remains in the shadows these days in the wake of his March car crash and subsequent DUI charges — a reported stay at a Swiss rehab facility has been the only headline the past couple of months. That drama came on top of his ongoing recovery from yet another injury (Achilles rupture) and surgery, and it’s now nearing two years since his last PGA Tour start.
If Tiger Woods returns to golf this year, PGA Tour Champions seems a logical first step
Prior to the March arrest and all that followed, there was growing speculation Tiger would be best served by tip-toeing back to competition through the Champions Tour, with its three-day tournaments and allowance of carts.
With the Furyk & Friends tournament specifically, if feasible, the possibility of a Tiger entry is buoyed by his longtime personal relationship with the tournament hosts — Jim Furyk, the 17-time PGA Tour winner (including the 2003 U.S. Open) and two-time U.S. Ryder Cup captain, and his wife, Tabitha.
“It’s been a topic of conversation,” Renfroe said. “We haven’t been given any indication of whether he will play or not, so we’ll certainly prepare for him to play and be able to react in any scenario. We have a plan in place if Tiger were to commit.”
Basically, the plan involves a ramping up of the in-place security details, which are coordinated with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s Fire Rescue division.
Meanwhile, prep work continues for Furyk & Friends at Hammock Beach
“We’re not gonna change the plan if Tiger were to commit and play — which we want him to, of course — but we will just scale up that plan,” Renfroe said.
All of that remains a Plan B, and one they’d happily turn toward, but for now, Plan A remains in play for a tournament that started in 2021 and had a five-year run in Jacksonville before this year’s move — an hour south to the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach.
“Given that it’s the first time in Hammock Beach, generating revenue is the primary goal that makes so many things possible for us,” Renfroe said. “Our goal is to raise a million dollars for charity every year. Our job is finding the partners that will make that possible each year. That’s keeping us busy.”
A pair of pre-tournament pro-ams — a big revenue generator — are already full, and corporate partnerships not only include Constellation, but presenting sponsor Circle K and several other entities.
The 54-hole tournament is scheduled for Oct. 9-11 (Friday to Sunday), and once tournament week arrives, much of the corporate involvement is reflected in course signage, some fan engagement and the ever-present VIP hospitality tents.
All necessary for PGA Tour and Champions tournaments to continue pouring money toward their charitable endeavors. The Furyk tournament has contributed a reported $5.45 million to assorted North Florida charities the past five years.
This year, Furyk’s friend list includes Billy Currington
But a professional tournament loses some of its game-day feel without everyday fans surrounding tee boxes and greens. To that end, Renfroe says the push is on to generate that enthusiasm. Single-day tickets are $25 for Saturday and Sunday, while the $50 Friday ticket includes entry to that night’s on-site concert, headlined by longtime country-music favorite Billy Currington.
All ticket purchases go through Ticketmaster.
“It’s a significant factor,” Renfroe says of ticket sales. “When there are a lot of fans there participating in the tournament, it makes everything better. We spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to get as many people out there as possible.”
Even single-day ticket sales have a charitable component for professional golf tournaments. Through the Furyk tournaments “Drive for a Distance” program, nonprofits can become ticket brokers.
“Any 501(c)(3) organization can sign up,” Renfroe said. “They can sell tickets to the tournament and they keep 100% of the revenue generated. We also talk to local colleges, local civic organizations, trying to get on their radar. A lot of our efforts in our marketing campaign will be to get General Admission ticket buyers out there.”
In circling the cart back to the Tiger Woods dream scenario, let’s state the obvious: They’d have to upload more tickets.
“We think it would be wonderful for PGA Tour Champions, and certainly wonderful for our event,” Renfroe said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Tiger Woods ‘Plan B’ in place for Jim Furyk PGA Tour Champions event