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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The PGA Tour Champions will return to Jacksonville for the first time in 19 years when the Constellation Furyk and Friends will be played at the historic Timuquana Country Club Oct. 4-10, 2021.
The Tour signed a five-year deal with Constellation and Timuquana for the full-field event, with a $2 million purse. It will be aired on Golf Channel.
Jim Furyk, a 17-time PGA Tour winner and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, will host the tournament. The foundation he runs with his wife Tabitha is the charitable beneficiary and Constellation, which sponsored the Senior Players Championship until 2018, returns to the tour as a title sponsor.
Furyk made the announcement on Sunday at the 10th annual Furyk and Friends Concert, at the 17th hole of the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course.
“We think it’s a huge opportunity to raise more dollars to help folks and more charitable organizations in Northeast Florida,” Furyk told the Florida Times-Union. “To be able to align ourselves with the PGA Tour and everything about their history of $3 billion in charitable giving is a very big step and something we’re very proud of.”
“It seemed like the right time to make this move to continue that growth,” Tabitha Furyk said. “Bring folks to Jacksonville to see how great our city is but also help us benefit those who need it.”
The last time a PGA Tour Champions event was played in the Jacksonville area was the the Legends of Golf at the Golf Club of Amelia, the Slammer & Squire, and the King & Bear from 1998-2002. The Senior Players was at the Sawgrass Country Club in 1987 and the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley in 1988 and 1989.
Constellation, a Baltimore-based energy company, has pledged $500,000 per year to the foundation beginning in 2021, and will make an initial donation of $100,000 this year. That means over the duration of the first contract, at least $2.6 million will go to charity.
Constellation’s parent company, Exelon, has been one of Furyk’s sponsors in the past.
“This is going to be a home run,” said Constellation president Mark Huston. “What really sold us was the personal interest Jim and Tabitha have in their community. The charity aspect of the tournament is something we’re behind 100 percent.”
Furyk and his wife’s foundation has assisted children and families in need in Northeast Florida for the last decade, such as Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Community PedsCare, Operation Shower and Blessings in a Backpack.
But transitioning that event to a PGA Champions tournament is a game-changer.
“We were a bit limited with the two-day event,” Tabitha Furyk said about the current version of Furyk and Friends. “Now we have an opportunity to grow it. We have already gained momentum, locally and nationally, and this week we needed 100 hotel rooms for the guests. Even with what we’ve been able to do right now, we’re scratching the surface. We know there is an opportunity to do more big things.”
PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said that goal of the Furyks is closely aligned with every Champions event.
“It’s going to be a week-long party,” Brady said. “PGA Champions players love the pro-ams, the pairings parties and have a good understanding of the importance of a sponsor and the fans. And Jim is such a great professional on and off the golf course who will give the event great name recognition. They’ve done a great job assisting children and families for the last 10 years and Constellation is committed to make sure that will continue, and to increase the charitable giving.”
Furyk said the pros should enjoy Timuquana, a Donald Ross design that is 97 years old. He and his wife recently became a members.
“I love this golf course … I think it’s going to set up phenomenal for this tournament,” Furyk said.
Furyk will be the second PGA Tour Champions member to host a tournament. Steve Stricker is the host for the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wis., in June.
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