By Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Harold Tool has been officially involved with The Players Championship since 1988. Like many of the 2,000-plus volunteers, and a majority of the tournament chairs over the years, he started out in general parking.
However, the 2010 Players chair’s relationship with the tournament goes much farther back than 1988.
“Prior to that, my parents were involved when it was the Greater Jacksonville Open,” said Tool. “My first memory of the tournament is it being at Deerwood in the mid-1970s.”
The 2010 tournament is May 3-9 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
During his 22 years as a volunteer, Tool has served on just about every committee. Part of the ascension to tournament chair is overseeing much of the volunteer work, including the highly coveted “ecology” committee.
“That’s a euphemism for trash,” he said, adding that one of his favorites was the standard bearers committee because he was able to work with local children all week. “There is not a committee I haven’t loved. They have been a great time,” he said.
Before taking over as chair the day after the 2009 Players Championship, Tool spent 5 years as avice chair. That role is part of the path to the chairmanship and one every chair has taken. Tool said several years after he first volunteered, he realized that chairing the tournament would be an honor.
“It was something I hoped to do at some point in time,” he said. “It’s a privilege and an extraordinary honor.”
In the real world, Tool is the chief financial officer for PPR Healthcare Staffing, based in Jacksonville Beach. In addition to serving as CFO, Tool owns the company with two other partners and said they have been very cooperative over the past 10-plus months as Tool worked with tournament Executive Director Jay Monahan and the volunteers who make sure the tournament goes smoothly.
“I have juggled things very carefully and have gotten an awful lot of patience and understanding out of my partners,” he said. “They know the tournament is important to the community.”
Over the next five weeks, Tool said most of his time will be spent insuring that volunteers have what they need. That includes assignments, instructions and any information needed to do the job.
He and Monahan will also spend plenty of time together.
“We will work very closely and there will be lots of meetings,” said Tool. “The staff is the key to the operation of the tournament. The relationship is absolutely key to the success of the tournament.”
Tool, Monahan and others were at Naval Station Mayport Friday morning to talk about this year’s relationship between The Players and the local military.
Last year, active, retired and reserve military and their dependents were granted free admission to practice rounds and after 3 p.m. during official play. The deal is even better this year.
“Admission for active duty, retired and reserve military personnel and their dependents will be admitted free to the tournament all day, every day,” said Monahan, who is stepping down as executive director after the tournament. PGA Tour Vice President of Business Development Matt Rapp will take over. “Let me repeat that: it’s F-R-E-E each day, all day.”
Monahan said as of March 2, members of the local military had “purchased” more than 8,500 tickets to the tournament.
“That’s a big number. Nothing would make us prouder than to see that number double, triple or even quadruple.”
Also, May 5 has been designated Military Appreciation Day. During a 5 p.m. ceremony on the 18th green, there will be a military salute to include a flyover by the Blue Angels and a performance by country music star Tim McGraw, who is playing the Arena the following night.
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