JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two tournaments less than 90 miles apart have developed a sort of symbiotic relationship, mostly due to the friendship of the two hosts.
They’re on different tours with a different demographic of players and for different stakes. But they have a few things in common: they’re hosted by two of the top PGA Tour players of their generation, the old-school courses and clubhouses offer breathtaking water views and they’re all about the fan experience.
This week’s Constellation Furyk & Friends, which began on Friday, is a PGA Tour Champions event at the Timuquana Country Club. It’s in its third year and last December was voted the best tournament experience of the year by the Champions Tour membership. The tournament is hosted by Jim Furyk, a 17-time PGA Tour winner and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, and his wife Tabitha.
Forty days after the final putt on Sunday, the 14th RSM Classic will tee off at the Sea Island Club on St. Simons Island, Ga., on Nov. 16. It’s a PGA Tour event that began in 2010 and has quickly become a staple of the fall schedule. World Golf Hall of Fame member Davis Love III, who won the 1992 and 2003 Players Championships and the 1997 PGA, among 21 PGA Tour titles, is the host.
Neither event is a major force in worldwide golf. But because of that, they perhaps lend themselves to a more laid-back, casual atmosphere that appeals to some players who have been through the wringer this season with major championships, the FedEx Cup and international match play events.
Schwab Cup and FedEx Fall
The Furyk & Friends does come with a certain late-season cachet: the PGA Tour Champions Schwab Cup race has only two tournaments left for players to get among the top 72 for the Schwab Cup playoffs. But the stars, such as defending Furyk champion Steve Stricker, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer, Stephen Ames and Steven Alker are secure and the fight is at the bottom end.
For the record, the tournament host is the bubble boy at No. 72, with a scant $2,037 lead over Jason Bohn.
The RSM Classic is the final event of “FedEx Cup Fall,” a new competitive format for the PGA Tour in which players who finished outside the top 70 (which qualified them for the FedEx Cup playoffs) have seven tournaments to earn points to stay among the top 125 and keep their PGA Tour card for 2024.
Tournaments share best practices
Love said the tournaments have something else in common: they borrow ideas freely from each other — with never a hard feeling — and go after experienced tournament organizers.
“Jim obviously saw us pop out of the ground as a really well-run tournament because we went and stole from people like [Quail Hollow Club president] Johnny Harris and the PGA Tour and we jumped right in with good operations,” Love said. “So, Jim and Tab did the same thing, they went and found the right people [such as tournament director Adam Renfroe, who ran the Web.com Tour Championship]. Obviously being here in town with the support of the Tour is very helpful.”
Furyk has no problem crediting the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions with helping the tournament evolve from his two-day pro-am at the Sawgrass Country Club between 2010-2020 to the Champions Tour schedule.
“Having [PGA Tour commissioner] Jay Monahan and [Champions Tour president] Miller Brady give us the stamp of approval and let us go out there and find Constellation and Timuquana has been wonderful,” Furyk said. “It seems like a big mountain to climb but it goes by so fast … we have a lot of fun with it. It’s a labor of love and I’m really proud of Tab and our team. We have a very small team but they work really hard all year.”
The Furyk & Friends has a staff of six people, including Renfroe and Tabitha Furyk.
Love’s structure at the RSM Classic is similar. His brother Mark is the executive director and his daughter Lexie Whatley is the event and merchandise manager. The tournament staff consists of 10 people but Love not only plays but has been seen vacuuming the merchandise tent floor to help his daughter close each night.
Both tournaments have been tireless in raising money for charity. The RSM Classic has raised more than $35 million in charity in the first 13 years and Furyk & Friends has raised more than $2.5 million in its first two.
Fun outside the ropes
Then there are the activities for fans outside the ropes. Both have numerous hospitality venues, both private and public and being in the fall, neither tries to fight the pull of college football and the NFL.
A large courtyard behind the 18th green at Sea Island has huge TVs that are tuned into the games of the day on Saturday and Sunday, as well as the golf. There is also a sports bar-like venue on the back nine of the Seaside Course.
The Public Tailgate Village at Furyk & Friends offers multiple TVs to keep up with the games and it’s opening early on Sunday for Jaguars fans to watch the game against the Buffalo Bills in London.
There’s also the Kid Zone, with a petting zoo and playground equipment. And if kids want to climb one of Timuquana’s stately trees, no one’s going to stop them.
“Now I want to copy what they’re doing,” Love said. “They sell more than us, they build a lot more than us. It’s incredible. In the pro-am, I was just counting skyboxes and tents and venues. Shoot, my granddaughters want to come back because of the Kid Zone they played in last year. Little things like that, every tournament goes and looks at other tournaments and sees the successes. So we’re definitely doing that with Jim and Tab.”
Both tournaments have concerts. Both have highly successful pro-ams. And both take good care of the players.
Listening to the players
“We’ve all played many, many tournaments on the PGA Tour and around the world, so you know what works,” Ernie Els said. “They [Furyk and his wife] listen to the players. They listened to the players through the first couple of years and went from there. From day one it’s just been a fabulous experience. The venue helps so much, too. Everything works.”
Players and their families on the PGA Tour also enjoy the RSM Classic for its venue and atmosphere: in the heart of the Golden Isles, at a historic resort.
“It gets better by the year,” Zach Johnson said last year. “The community rallies behind it every year. Everybody’s just excited for RSM week. It’s a perfect synergy between the Tour, Sea Island, RSM and stewardship. That’s what the Tour’s all about.”
Furyk said the key is to give hard-core golf fans what they want, and a party atmosphere for people who are only casual fans.
“It’s really just about bringing people out,” he said. “The golf tournament itself is the vehicle.”
