by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The world’s best 150 golfers (minus top-ranked Tiger Woods) are in town for The Players Championship. The four-day golf tournament actually encompasses the entire week, with practice rounds Monday-Wednesday. Although the atmosphere during the first part of the week is a little lighter, the Stadium Course is still swarming with thousands of workers, some on the payroll, some not.
Altogether, about 2,200 people from every generation will devote a few days to the entire week of their time to making sure every facet of the tournament goes as smoothly as possible. From parking cars two miles away to unloading thousands of bottles of water to keeping things hush-hush on the tee boxes, The Players would not succeed without its volunteers.
Monday marked the beginning of a very long week for many of them. The warm temperatures only promise to get warmer and the crowds will swell each day. But, all day long green golf shirt-clad volunteers will direct, instruct and help the over 100,000 that attend The Players. And, they come from all over and represent all walks of life.
There’s Bonnie Kurosko, a first-time volunteer, who says she’s a “domestic goddess” and is spending the week at the Stadium Course instead of at home.
There’s Ed Peterson, who is retired and survived cancer. He’ll spend the week making sure the Volunteer Oasis is well-stocked with soft drinks and cold beer.
There’s Malcolm Cochrane, a police officer in Scotland who’s in Jacksonville for part of his vacation. He’ll spend two days volunteering at the driving range and getting to see first-hand exactly how far and how accurately the world’s best can hit a golf ball.
There’s Tom Basore, who is retired and lives in Amelia Island. “If I wasn’t here I’d be riding my motorcycle, running errands,” he said.
There’s Ryan Williams, a student at Florida State, on break for summer. Williams has been a volunteer since he was 13 years old and genuinely sees himself as chairman one day.
There’s Bill Joris, a pastor at Moniac Baptist Church in Moniac, Ga. in the northern part of the state. He’s volunteering for his first Players and will get to see them all from his post near the first tee.
And, there are hundreds and hundreds more, all with their own reasons for taking a week off from work, school or retirement. But, all have one goal — help The Players any way they can.