Shocking greens damage poses challenge ahead of PGA Tour Champions event

A handful of greens were reportedly damaged overnight at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla., which is the host of this week’s Constellation Furyk & Friends, a PGA Tour Champions event hosted by Jim Furyk.

Casey Bannon of The Golfer’s Journal tweeted the news, along with pictures, saying four of the greens were damaged, although it’s unclear how. He added that the agronomy team from nearby TPC Sawgrass was helping out.

The event’s media relations team has yet to respond to GOLF.com’s request for more details (and a pro shop attendant said they are not commenting on the damage right now), but there seems to be some good news here. A few photos are floating around social media that prove some of the greens (if not all) are already repaired and look much better than they did in the original pictures. (These maintenance crews are pros, folks.)

“I saw some video…and it looked really bad,” Ernie Els, who is in the field this week, said on Thursday. “They really went in there. Somebody was very, very, angry obviously. For them to do what they’ve done already, it’s just amazing. You’re not going to see much in two weeks’ time, but the next couple of days we might see it a little bit. But we’ll get past it, we know what it’s all about. The tournament will continue to be a success. They’ve done a hell of a job this morning.”

Added Davis Love, who also is playing this week: “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 long night. It’s just going to look bad on a couple holes. But the mission of this tournament isn’t going to slow down. Tab [Furyk’s wife] and Jim do a great job with everything they’ve done.”

The Furyk & Friends begins on Friday. Seventy-eight players are in the field, including Furyk, Bernhard Langer, Steve Stricker and Ernie Els. You can watch it from 2-4 p.m. ET on Friday and Saturday on Golf Channel, and the final round will be broadcast on tape delay from 9:30-11:30 p.m. on Sunday on Golf Channel.

Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.

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