Patriots' Outpost Again a Hit at THE PLAYERS

Hundreds of people associated with the military have enjoyed the hospitality at The Patriots' Outpost at THE PLAYERS Championship
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May 13, 2011

By Michael Curet, Special to Together, Anything's Possible

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.—The Patriots’ Outpost, located on the hill between No. 16 and 18 fairways on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, has been a special place this week at THE PLAYERS.

Fellow soldiers, whether active or retired and sometimes 60 or more years apart in age, gather, meet, exchange stories, relax and watch the best PGA TOUR players in the world play golf. Of course, complimentary food and beverages in an air-conditioned environment makes it even nicer.

At the Patriots’ Outpost, families and friends are reunited, others from worlds apart are introduced. They break bread together, laugh together and, in some cases, cry together.

Some of those tears came together when singer Darius Rucker dropped by the tent on Military Appreciation Day on May 11 and thanked everyone who has served in the military. He, too, was moved by the moment and in mid-sentence suddenly asked the congregation to join him in singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Earlier that day, PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem and PGA TOUR player Boo Weekley visited to present a special golf membership to Manny Del Rio, a Wounded Warrior who lost his leg at age 19 while serving on the USS Kitty Hawk when he was crushed on the flight deck beneath an F-18 jet. 

The support of Jacksonville-area companies and individuals was never stronger than it was Friday as traffic significantly increased in the Outpost. A local Chik-Fil-A owner said his team will have donated 2,500 sandwiches by week’s end. Applebee’s, which invites each member of the military in attendance to sign a “wall of honor” as they pass through the food line, has enough food to accommodate 10,000 people at the PGA TOUR’s flagship event. Firehouse Subs expects to make enough sandwiches to feed about 5,000 people during the tournament.

“I think it’s marvelous,” said 80-year-old retired Marine fighter pilot Jerry Vaughan of Fleming Island, Fla. “I’m from the Vietnam era, and when we got off a jet coming out of combat we were not always treated the best. Here, we are honored. The attitude of America toward the military has changed. We appreciate this courtesy the PGA TOUR has extended to us.”

Vaughan and his wife, Stella, despite the 90-degree temperatures, said he was hoping to watch Tiger Woods, but when the 2001 PLAYERS Championship winner withdrew because of injury, Vaughan said he would be looking for the “next Tiger Woods.”

For 32 year-old Brian Pearson, a  member of the U.S. Air Force 38th Aerial Force Squadron, he didn’t mind traveling with his wife and two kids (both under age 2) from Charleston, S.C. to experience the Outpost at THE PLAYERS. “We plan on staying if the kids cooperate with us,” said Pearson, who hopes to be able to watch Phil Mickelson or Graeme McDowell make a run at THE PLAYERS this weekend.