Broken Sound Club – Syndication Server

This PGA Tour Champions event with former NFL stars is putting together a Hall of Fame roster

The inaugural event will bring together pro football players and professional golfers in a unique format.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Offense, defense and special teams win NFL championships.

This is exemplified by former NFL stars Anthony Muñoz, DeMarcus Ware and Morten Andersen, who each have committed to play in next year’s inaugural James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at Broken Sound Club. The trio excelled at each of the three major aspects of the game.

Muñoz was an offensive tackle with the Cincinnati Bengals for 13 seasons who was elected to 11 consecutive Pro Bowls and named All-Pro 11 times from 1981 through 1991. In 2022, an ESPN panel named Muñoz as the greatest offensive tackle in NFL history.

Ware spent the majority of his 12 seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys before capping his career with the Denver Broncos. He was voted first-team All-Pro four times, second-team All-Pro three times and was selected to nine Pro Bowls.

Andersen, nicknamed “The Great Dane,” was a kicker in the NFL for 25 seasons – most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons – and is widely considered the most prolific scorer in league history. Andersen’s 40 field goals of 50 yards or longer were the most in NFL history at his retirement. He is one of the rare players to be named to two NFL All-Decade Teams (1980s and 1990s). Anderson (2,544 points) ranks second among all-time scorers in the NFL, trailing only Adam Vinatieri (2,673).

Former NFL player Ronde Barber looks on during a playoff in the final round of the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 20, 2022, in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

“The addition of Hall of Famers like Anthony Muñoz, DeMarcus Ware and Morten Andersen to the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational brings even more excitement and anticipation for both fans and participants alike,” said Ken Kennerly, tournament Executive Director. “And there’s going to be even more NFL stars who will be added to this wonderful tournament to play alongside golf’s greatest.”

The inaugural event, which will be held from March 31 to April 6, will bring together pro football players and professional golfers in a unique format. The event will include 26 football legends and 78 PGA Tour Champions professionals. In the first two rounds of the 54-hole event on Broken Sound’s Old Course, which will be televised on Golf Channel, an NFL Hall of Famer will be paired with a Champions pro.

Munoz, Ware and Anderson join NFL greats Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, Dwight Freeney, Jimbo Covert, Andre Reed and Calvin Johnson, who have also committed to play.

The tournament will support cornerstone charities, including the Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County, and First Tee Foundation. Tickets go on sale in November, when volunteers can also apply by going to www.jameshardieinvitational.com.

Tim Petrovic, Jim Furyk share TimberTech Championship lead after two rounds

The field played 36 holes on Saturday after Friday’s opening round was postponed because of heavy rains.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Tim Petrovic called it a birdie-fest. He should know.

Petrovic made 16 birdies in 36 holes Saturday, including 11 in a second-round 61, during a marathon day of golf at the TimberTech Championship.

And all that got him was a share of the lead with Jim Furyk at 14-under 130 entering Sunday’s final round at Broken Sound Club.

“Every time I made a birdie, I looked up and Jim was making a birdie,” Petrovic said. “It was like a birdie-fest this afternoon. The greens are soft, so they’re holding and (it was) kind of just a putting contest out there.”

The field played 36 holes after Friday’s round was postponed because of heavy rains. Making it more difficult, the players had to walk all 36 holes because carts are not allowed during the tour’s three playoff events.

Petrovic’s bogey-free 61 was his career low and matches the lowest round on the PGA Tour Champions this season (Phil Mickelson and David Morland). Petrovic, playing in his 100th career event, is looking for his first victory on the 50-and-older circuit.

Furyk’s birdies also came in bunches – he had six in a seven-hole stretch during the second round – as he shot 66-64. The highlight was when he chipped in from a greenside bunker at No. 10 for birdie.

“I did a good job of getting the ball in the hole and scoring,” Furyk said. “I gave myself a lot of opportunities today with the irons and was able to make some really good reads and knock in a bunch of putts.”

Saturday started in windy, misty conditions before the weather cleared and the players took advantage during the afternoon round. While Petrovic had the lowest round, unheralded Steven Alker of New Zealand shot a 29 on his front nine in the second round, starting birdie-eagle-birdie. Alker (68-63) is a shot back of the leaders.

“I finished strong this morning and that gave me some momentum going into the afternoon,” said Alker, who had no status on this tour until he had seven top-10s in eight starts since turning 50 in July. “I had a great run. It was fun.”

Hall of Famer Ernie Els is alone in fourth, three back, after rounds of 67 and 66. Els is trying to win for the third time on the PGA Tour Champions.

“If you played properly, you could make birdies,” Els said. “The greens are putting beautifully. It’s there for the taking, but you’ve also got to play carefully. You can’t just go blindly at it.”

Bernhard Langer played alongside Furyk and Els in the marquee threesome, but couldn’t match their games Saturday. Langer shot 70-69 and is in 15th place, nine shots back.

Langer made some uncharacteristic mistakes, bogeying the short par-4 seventh hole and then made a double bogey at the ninth.

“It certainly wasn’t my best,” Langer said. “I made a bunch of birdies, but way too many bogeys. I was way too inconsistent and I didn’t putt well, either.”

Langer leads in the Charles Schwab Cup standings as he tries to win the championship for the sixth time, but Furyk and Els can narrow the gap with a win Sunday.

Brett Quigley had three birdies early in the second round to lead at 8-under. But he made a quadruple bogey at the par-4 ninth, a pair of double bogeys on the back nine and dropped to 35th after a 76.

It wasn’t his swing, Quigley said. It was a swollen left knee.

“I came out of the locker room for the afternoon round and my knee had blown up,” Quigley said. “The trainer came out on the fifth hole, wrapped it up and gave me some Tylenol. I just couldn’t get up against it (knee). It was a struggle all day.”

Defending champion Darren Clarke’s hopes of repeating ended with a 79 in the first round. Clarke made a quadruple bogey on the par-3 eighth.

[listicle id=778101266]

PGA Tour Champions TimberTech Championship going strong for recycling with Zero Waste certification

The Champions event in Florida pledges there will be no waste from the tournament sent to the landfills.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — At most PGA Tour Champions events, the excitement occurs on the greens. It’s what every golfer aims for on almost half their swings. And the best ones receive the most green – as in cash.

At the TimberTech Championship this week, the second-to-last event of the season, a focus is on going green – as in recycling.

The sponsor of the Champions event at Broken Sound Club on Nov. 5-7 pledges there will be no waste sent to landfill from the tournament. The program is called Zero Waste.

TimberTech Championship officials have spent the last several months designing waste out of the event and have found ways to recycle, reuse, compost or donate most waste streams. They’ll also take advantage of an on-site composter at Broken Sound, a club with a long-standing commitment to sustainability. Some of the waste will even be used to build TimberTech’s low maintenance and environmentally sustainable outdoor living products.

“We believe in bringing people together for unique outdoor experiences made possible by beautiful, high-performance outdoor products that are sustainable,” said Paul Kardish, chief legal officer at AZEK, TimberTech’s parent company.

“We are deeply committed to a lasting impact on the world by accelerating use of recycled material. We are very proud the TimberTech Championship is the only PGA Tour Champions event that will be certified Zero Waste.”

Fans can help with the tournament’s think-green initiative by bringing plastic bags – grocery bags and dry cleaner bags, for instance – for a chance to win a set of two Adirondack chairs, a matching side table (both made out of recycled material) and a TimberTech swag bag.

When dropping bags off, a fan can scan a QR code that automatically enters them into the drawing. Two sets of prizes will be given away each of the three tournament days, six in all.

To make a 300-square-foot deck, it takes about 30,000 to 40,000 plastic bags. Last year’s TimberTech Championship generated 4.1 million pounds of recycled material. This year’s will generate much more.

With the on-site composter, tournament officials will be able to return organic matter and nutrients to the soil and even grow wildflowers to help 22 beehives at Broken Sound.

That’s a lot of buzz.

[listicle id=778101266]