CONSTELLATION FURYK & FRIENDS PRESENTED BY CIRCLE K

October 8, 2026

Jim Furyk

Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by tournament host here Jim Furyk at the Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS, this event being held for the sixth time, first time here at Hammock Beach Resort.

First, talk about the whirlwind this week has been. You were over in Europe to start the week and now you're here serving tournament host and everything.

JIM FURYK: Coming in hot for sure. We arrived in Ireland Friday around dinnertime. We were able to get back late, late Tuesday night, after midnight at home. Quick sleep, and it's only about an hour from home down here to Hammock Beach.

Just excited to kind of come in hot, get a chance to see everyone yesterday: Constellation, Circle K, a lot of our Pro-Am partners.

Yeah, just excited for the week. It's a new stop this year at Hammock Beach Resort. The community, the golf course, its members, the club and the staff, they've all been so welcoming. They're so excited to have the event, and that makes us feel blessed. It's beautiful.

Obviously we're dealing with weather issues this week. There's a lot of rain in the forecast. Man, this golf course has taken the water on. Everywhere in Jacksonville yesterday was closed up. We've probably received over four inches of rain in a very short period of time.

Golf course was very playable yesterday. I guess hat's off to the design, to the contracting work, getting the drainage. This place is quite amazing. If we were at a lot of other golf courses, we couldn't be playing golf right now.

Q. Just tell me about being here this year as far as what you've heard from the sponsors and that kind of thing. They probably like having the hospitality right here, being at a resort, not that there's anything wrong with the other site.

JIM FURYK: Both the players and sponsors have talked about the stay and play. It's so much easier. You're not shuttling back and forth. It's easier to get to events. It's easier to get to your tee times.

That whole idea of getting everyone in one location is so nice for all our guests and the players alike. They have more fun. They're together more often. As players, we fiercely compete against each other, but we hang out a lot together. So kind of banding up, husbands and wives, going out together in groups and spending time together is a lot of fun.

For our sponsors and the guests, just the ability to spend that much more time, to have the event spaces. Unfortunately, as I said, a lot of our event spaces, the big wow is outdoors, staring at the ocean, hearing the waves crash.

We were hoping for a little more sunshine, but we've had the ability to kind of move the stuff indoors, and that's a testament to our staff and the preparation. It's also a testament to Hammock Beach and the resort and how good they're able to move on the fly and the facilities they have here that we can use.

Q. You spent a lot of time this year in the TV booth. How much are you enjoying all that?

JIM FURYK: It's been fun. It's been a big learning curve. I did seven events this year; six were live golf. No, it's been a lot of fun. Kind of signed a contract with Golf Channel for the next few years. We're going to have 12 events next year, maybe increase that in the future, and it keeps me close.

I'll be at all the Signature Events this year. Next year I'll be at all the major championships. The one I won't be working for television is the PGA, but to do the Ryder Cup, I'll be there all week as well.

It's nice for me to be close to the guys who are trying to make our Ryder Cup team, give me an opportunity to be there, have some dinners with them. While I'm doing my preparation on the golf course, also seeing them during their practice rounds.

So I think the two will kind of help each other out. I think I'll be a much better captain for being in the booth and being on the road next year, and I think I'll be a much better analyst, getting to know the guys, their games, understanding the golf courses we're talking about a lot better. I think the two will play off each other very nicely.

I've said it a lot, what I really enjoyed about the Golf Channel is the folks that I work with. Whether that's Tommy Roy producing NBC show, Sellers Shy doing the CBS show. Terry Gannon is usually my host. I work alongside Curt Byrum, Notah Begay, Steve Sands. They're all wonderful people. They're all very experienced. I'm kind of the rookie and the new guy, and they've taken me under their wing and helped me a lot.

Q. This year Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, and even Steven Alker have had incredible seasons. Thoughts on that and what all -- they've won 15 of the 23 events this year.

JIM FURYK: That's absolutely incredible. Three guys kind of dominating, winning 75 percent of the events or close to it. Hat's off. I think Zach's won six times, Steve Alker four, and Stewart five.

For Zach to come out and have so much success -- and he's really been complimentary of our Tour and what it's all about -- that gives a boost. That gives guys like Henrik Stenson and Ryan Palmer playing in their first events -- I think Ryan's first event on the Champions Tour is this week.

Someone is always turning 50. We've got new kids on the block, and they're going to make it that much more difficult. As you can see, Zach is making it that much more difficult for the guys that have been competing out here for the last few years.

Q. We haven't seen you playing much this year. How are you doing health-wise?

JIM FURYK: I'm doing fine. My everyday life is great. I had a hip injury that took too long to diagnose, and because my hip wasn't really functioning properly, I put a lot of stress on my lower back. I had the hip replaced, hip's great, but the back is bothering me a bit.

I played one event in '25, one event in '26. I'm not going to play anything in the near future most likely. I play golf maybe once a week at home. Sometimes I'll play two or three times a week; sometimes I'll go a month without playing. I probably average about once a week. I enjoy it with friends and with sponsors from an entertainment standpoint, getting to meet a lot of great people.

I'm definitely not saying I'm retired, but there's no plans to play a lot of golf in the future. That will give me kind of a really interesting perspective this week to see some of our values, to see the players and hear their perspective, to really spend some time in our sponsor tents, maybe get out there at Club 58 with our fans.

Then also maybe do a little TV work. I'll spend a little time with John Cook this week and do some stuff and talk about the event on the Golf Channel. It should be fun.

Q. New market this year. It's still Jacksonville, but it's a little bit different market. What have you heard from maybe sponsors that maybe weren't part of the event before and maybe are now?

JIM FURYK: I think it's allowed us to grow into a new area. We retained a lot of our sponsors from Jacksonville. We've also been able to grow here in Flagler County. As I said, the community here is extremely excited for the event.

When you come into an event and you have a golf course and you know it's going to -- there's going to be a little -- it takes about a month to build. We have a big build out here. It takes about a month to build that out. The course closes for the members for a week to have the tournament.

To see how excited they are and how proud they are of this golf course and kind of welcoming us with open arms has been incredible. I think we're seeing a lot from the business community here as well.

I think once we get our foot in the door and once they see how fun our Champions Tour players are, whether that's in Pro-Ams, how they lend themselves to the fans -- we realize now these guys have already made a name for themselves.

We all feel very fortunate that we're able to compete and play a game for a living professionally, over the age of 50, and we also kind of realize what makes that go around. The fans have to have a good time. Your corporate partners have to have a good time. Your Pro-Am partners have to have a great time. And our guys do a really great job of that.

I think as the folks here in Flagler County see that as well, I think we're going to get a lot more support, and we've done really well so far.

It's also allowed our foundation to grow. We kind of added some charitable organizations here in Flagler County as well, and it will help us spread our wings and spread our roots and help more folks.

Q. Do you think the guys are a little more relaxed when they're interacting with sponsors and doing the Pro-Ams and things, as opposed to like THE PLAYERS Championship when there's so much pressure?

JIM FURYK: Sure, I think that's true. Again, we have a bigger Pro-Am footprint. On the PGA Tour, it's usually a Wednesday only. Here we have two waves of Wednesday Pro-Ams, two waves of Thursday Pro-Ams. So we kind of double up on that.

Yeah, once or twice a year, I kind of send a shotgun off or I wind up our Pro-Am and take turns between Tabitha, myself, maybe Adam, who's in what position to kind of thank everyone. I make sure each and every year that our Pro-Am partners realize it's a big deal for every Champions Tour event. Those Pro-Am spots and having folks come and play with our guys, it's a big deal. Our players understand that, but I want our guests and sponsors to understand it.

That's what makes the wheel go round. That's why we have a Champions Tour, and they need to have a good time. One by one you'll see the players -- yesterday we got put in a 9 and 9 instead of playing 18 holes. One by one I saw the Pro-Am partners coming in, they're soaking wet, and their Pro is like, let's go grab a beer, let's go have some lunch, and they sit down and talk to them, and that's important.