by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Seventeen years has boiled down to 34 days for Players Championship chairman Rusty Pritchett.
Over that time, Pritchett has picked up trash, monitored parking lots farther away from golf than a Tiger Woods 2-iron, confiscated cell phones and cameras and arrived before dawn and stayed long after sunset. It’s been 17 years since Tom Kite won his only Players title in Pritchett’s first year as a volunteer and since then 15 different winners have hoisted the crystal trophy including Woods, Greg Norman, Fred Couples and Davis Love III and Steve Elkington, who have both won it twice since Pritchett became involved.
Pritchett has known since the summer of 2004 that the 2006 Players Championship would be his to run. What he didn’t realize at the time was the significance of this year’s tournament. Next year, the tournament moves to May, a move precipitated by the PGA Tour’s desire to get the tournament away from the NCAA basketball tournament and, hopefully, towards better weather.
“It doesn’t make any difference to me,” said Pritchett of overseeing the last March Players Championship. “I just like being a part of the volunteer group. I will always remember that this was the last one in March.”
It’s the volunteer aspect of the tournament, says Pritchett, that got him involved in the first place. The fact that he has paid his dues and risen through the ranks of volunteer groups to head volunteer committees and eventually become the ultimate volunteer (and finally get a red sport coat) is why Pritchett got involved in 1989.
“The money the tournament raises goes back to people I know and charities I know. That’s why I do it,” said Pritchett.
With a little over a month left until the first tee time, the big issues have been dealt with. A major renovation of the Stadium Course and clubhouse are planned for immediately after the tournament. The construction has made parking an issue, but not one, Pritchett says, that should concern fans or become a problem.
These few weeks will be spent fine-tuning a year’s worth of plans. Pritchett said he meets weekly with PGA Tour officials and tournament director Brian Goin and his staff. He’s also on the speaker’s circuit and Monday’s stop at the Meninak Club was one of many on Pritchett’s slate. He spoke to the Times-Union last week and will meet with two Rotary Clubs next week.
Some of Jacksonville’s biggest names have served as tournament chairs including Anne Nimnicht, Don Davis, Fuller Tresca, Hank Haynes, Bob Olsen and Mike Hartley, just to name a few. The celebrity that comes with becoming a “Red Coat” hasn’t phased Pritchett.
“It’s really an honor and I’m not sure it hasn’t hit me yet,” said Pritchett who also volunteered in 1994 when Woods become the youngest golfer to win the U.S. Amateur.
Tournament week will be busy for Pritchett. He’ll get to the course early and stay late. He could walk around, shake hands, have a drink and hot dog and watch golf. More likely, though, he’ll be somewhere behind the scenes, making sure things run smoothly.
“I’ll go around and thank all the volunteers during the week,” said Pritchett, who owns an insurance company in Atlantic Beach where he also lives. “There are some quality people that volunteer that week. A buddy of mine is a doctor and works on the practice range all week. That week, we are all on the level. If people ask me if I am chairman, I’ll tell them. But otherwise, I’m just a volunteer at the tournament
“I’ll have some mixed emotions when it’s over, especially after 17 years. It’ll be a little sad, but I’ll step aside and let Tim Tresca take over as chairman.”