Furyk & Friends seeking new home after Timuquana Country Club declines to renew beyond 2025
The Timuquana Country Club will end its partnership with the Constellation Furyk & Friends PGA Tour Champions event at the end of its five-year contract in 2025.
In a letter to the club membership obtained by the Times-Union on Monday, club president Mike Oates cited the results of a survey which indicated a slight majority of the total members responding to a survey were supportive of hosting the tournament beyond 2025. The total responses from club members showed 53.6 percent were in favor of continuing to host the tournament, but only 49.6 percent of the founders and life members were in favor.
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More than a third of the membership as a whole was against hosting the tournament past 2025 (36.7 percent of the total responses, 39.5 percent of the founders/life members) and in both cases, around 10 percent of the responses were neutral.
The club drew 534 total responses from more than 1,100 members. Oates said in the letter that it was enough to give the Board of Governors "an accurate picture of the overall membership's view of the event."
"While a slight majority of the members favor extension, a significant percentage oppose it," Oates wrote in the letter. "Hosting the Furyk & Friends tournament has provided material benefits to the club and great enjoyment to our members. However, the board believes that the growing difference of opinions among members regarding the issue of extension makes it clear that, at the conclusion of our initial five-year commitment, it will be time for us to allow this event to move to another venue."
Tournament committed to staying on First Coast
Furyk & Friends tournament director Adam Renfroe said they were informed about the Timuquana Board of Governors' decision on Nov. 22.
"We're disappointed at the decision but we have two years left on our term," Renfroe said. "Timuquana has been a great partner from the beginning and they will be great partners and help us succeed in our final two years. I have no doubt the Jacksonville community will rally around the tournament while it's still at Timuquana."
The tournament in its current form is an outgrowth of a two-day event at the Sawgrass Country Club from 2011-2020. The tournament could return there but Renfroe pointed out that there are numerous options on the First Coast.
"It's our intention to keep the tournament in Northeast Florida for many years to come," Renfroe said. "We have not determined what our priority list would be and who we would approach. There are a lot of really great, quality golf courses in our area and we have a lot of options. We are just starting to analyze those options."
The tournament has sold almost all of its corporate hospitality and pro-am spots in the first three years and drawn large crowds to Timuquana, despite being a fall event. Its first three winners were World Golf Hall of Fame member Phil Mickelson, 2023 Schwab Cup champion Steve Stricker and Brett Quigley.
It raised more than $2.51 million in charity for the Jim and Tabitha Furyk Foundation in the first two years. The amount raised for the 2023 tournament will be announced later this month.
The dates for the 2024 tournament are Oct. 4-6.
Jim Furyk praises Timuquana's support
Tournament host Jim Furyk said Timuquana has been "a fantastic host for our tournament," and emphasized the desire to keep the tournament in the area.
"We are thankful for all that the club has done to support this event, our Foundation and the Jacksonville community," he said in a statement. "We look forward to our event being played at Timuquana the next two years. We plan on keeping the Constellation Furyk & Friends here in the First Coast for many years to come.”
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Renfroe also said that Constellation and presenting sponsor Circle K have been notified and indicated they want to continue their sponsorship of the tournament.
"We had really good conversations with Constellation and Circle K and they will support the tournament no matter where it goes," he said.
PGA Tour Champions supports a move
PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady also was optimistic that the tournament would remain in the area beyond the current contract term.
“We are grateful to Timuquana Country Club for their partnership in hosting the Constellation Furyk & Friends since its inception,” Brady said in a statement. “While we are disappointed that they will not be extending their contract to host this event, we anticipate that the final two years of our event at this club to be at the same high standard as the first three.
“Thanks to the Jim & Tabitha Furyk Foundation, our presenting sponsor Circle K and our title sponsor Constellation, this tournament has become a standout on our Tour and we expect to find an excellent host here in the Northeast Florida community for 2026 and beyond.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Constellation Furyk & Friends will be on the move after Timuquana opts out
