PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL. -- Gary Shumaker, a Jacksonville Beach resident, says he never leaves the beach, so THE PLAYERS Championship is an event suited for him.
Shumaker, 66, is a veteran. He served two years during the Vietnam war. He was sporting his U.S. Army shirt and 8th Infantry cap Friday morning at the tournament.
The Players offers free admission for military and discounted admissions for veterans like Shumaker.
“It pays to serve the country,” he said.
The Players week is something he looks forward to every year, but this year was a little different for him.
He's been attending since 1997, sometimes accompanied by his son or his father.
This year he was visiting the tournament alone.
"Something happened today," he said fighting back tears. Shumaker was thinking about his father.
His dad, Louis, passed away 10 years ago, but his memory lives on in the mind and heart of Shumaker, especially when he visits TPC Sawgrass.
One of the fondest memories he has of his dad, who was also a U.S. veteran, was when he took him to the tournament in 1999.
David Duval won that year.
Louis had never been to a golf tournament before, nor had he ever been around professional golfers, but "he had always been a huge fan," Shumaker said.
The day he took his father to his first TPC tournament 19 years ago, the clouds opened up and poured on both of them.
"It's pouring rain, and he's soaking wet," Shumaker said while laughing. "And he's got a smile on his face like he just died and went to heaven."
He laughs at the situation now, able to understand and appreciate his father's enthusiasm being at his first professional golf tournament. But at the time, he just wanted to get out of the rain.
"He always watched golf on TV, he never went to one tournament in his life. So he was up-front and personal with all the players," Shumaker said.
"He was like in awe of the players. 'There's Mickelson! Oh my god! Oh my goodness there's Sergio Garcia,'" imitating the joyful words of his father. "He was like a little boy at Disney World. The joy and happiness on his face I will never forget. I'm so glad I could do that for him."
Shumaker and his family are proof that memories we make as spectators off the course are just as fond as the ones made by the players on the course.
"Can I add something," Shumaker pleaded while choking up, "he made me the man I am today."
