JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan vowed on Friday that the charitable component of the Players Championship would not end because the tournament was canceled after only one round.
“Hold us accountable,” he said.
Saturday was the first step in keeping that promise – and Monahan was walking the walk, joining about three dozen PGA Tour and Players Championship staff, past Players chairmen, plus friends and family to serve meals at the Sulzbacher Center in downtown Jacksonville that were donated aby TPC Sawgrass.
When the Players was canceled because of the coronavirus, the TPC Sawgrass and other vendors had massive amounts of food on hand because they had planned for more than 200,000 fans over six days.
Losing the final three days, which are the busiest of the week, left more than 7,500 meals in the form of prepared sandwiches, wraps and salads for TPC Sawgrass clubhouse badge holders alone. Other items such as fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, condiments and cookies would have gone uneaten.
But three hours after Monahan’s news conference, PGA Tour player Billy Horschel was among the workers loading food into 18-wheel trucks to take to the Feeding Northeast Florida warehouse.
In all, 2.8 tons of food found its way to Feeding Northeast Florida and the Sulzbacher Center, which serves the homeless and at-risk people.
The unprepared food is now in refrigerated storage. The meals that were already prepared were brought to the Sulzbacher Center to feed around 250 people on Saturday.
“We worked two days out, so the meals we prepared were scheduled to be served at the clubhouse on Sunday, and to our [Players presenting] sponsors when they played golf on Monday,” said Azhar Mohammad, the TPC Sawgrass executive chef. “We just had so much left over.”
Sulzbacher Center president and CEO Cindy Funkhouser got a phone call on Friday from Feeding Northeast Florida president Susan King, asking if the center wanted the meals.
“I had watched Jay’s press conference and I felt so bad for him,” Funkhouser said. “The Players has done so much for us in the past and I know what it means to them. Then I got the call from Susan. I was amazed they made this happen so fast. Just 24 hours later.”
Not only did the Sulzbacher Center get the meals for Saturday’s lunch, but the Players donated enough food for a week’s worth of lunches that filled their freezers and walk-in refrigerator.
“It’s huge for us,” Funkhouser said.
Monahan and Players executive director Jared Rice donned hair nets, gloves and aprons and served meals to the residents of the center and homeless who come for meals. Even the children of Tour players were busy, filling small cups with salad dressing and larger cups with ice tea.
“This is Day One of the commissioner telling everyone that we will be accountable,” Rice said. “Our commitment to this community is unwavering, as evidence today. We’re here to start the path forward to 2021.”
Mohammad was appreciative that the meals he and his staff went to good use.
“I’ve worked for a lot of companies but I’ve never worked for anyone that is as dedicated so much to the community and region as the PGA Tour,” he said.
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