Three Members were Inducted into the Section Hall of Fame

Since 1991, the North Florida PGA recognizes its Members for lifetime dedication to the profession and game of golf through leadership, promotion of the game, serving their communities, and playing accomplishments. The North Florida PGA is honored to announce the following inductees to the Hall of Fame Class of 2023: Paul Azinger, PGA; Jim Furyk, PGA; and Jim Slattery, PGA.

Paul Azinger (Bradenton, FL)

- Azinger has gone on to play in over 500 events, has 12 PGA Tour wins, was the winning Ryder Cup Captain in 2008, and received the “Golf Writers Association of America’s Ben Hogan Award” in 1995 for his remarkable comeback after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He is currently the Lead Analyst for Golf Channel & NBC. Azinger and his wife, Toni, founded the “Azinger Compassion Family Center.” The “Azinger Family Compassion Center” is a multi-purpose donation and distribution center that provides life-changing resources for foster children, hungry children, trafficked children, single moms, and struggling families from the surrounding community.

Jim Furyk (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) - Throughout his career, he has played in over 600 tournaments worldwide, has seventeen PGA Tour wins, and three PGA TOUR Champions victories, including the 2003 U.S. Open and 2021 Senior Open. Recently, Furyk was announced as the Vice Captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup, Captain for the inaugural World Champions Cup, and the 2024 President Cup. Furyk and his wife, Tabitha, are the Founders of the “Jim and Tabitha Furyk Foundation”, which provides communities with the funding to become stronger. Furyk also hosts the “Constellation Furyk & Friends” tournament where PGA Tour Champions play for local charities.

Jim Slattery (Belleair, FL) - A PGA Member since 1991, Slattery has dedicated his career to leading, coaching, and promoting the game. His career began with humble roots as a valet and worked his way up to be the Director of Golf & Director of Instruction. He has been so loyal to the work and the promotion of the game that he has been at Belleair Country Club for forty years. Slattery has given over 55,000 golf lessons ranging from high school golf teams, now college athletes, ladies, men, and juniors. He is a regular in Section and Chapter tournaments and won the 1991 West Central Chapter PGA Assistants Championship, the 2015 and 2016 West Central PGA Senior Championship, and the 2000 North Florida Section PGA Senior/Junior Championship. Through the years, Slattery has served in leadership roles as the West Central Chapter’s Marketing Director, Secretary, Vice President, and President. Recognized by his peers as the ultimate PGA Professional, Slattery has been honored twice by the North Florida PGA as Golf Professional of the Year.

July 25-27 saw one of the Kentucky PGA Section’s most prominent majors of the year, and the 2023 Kentucky Open was one for the books. Persimmon Ridge Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, hosted the 104th edition of this prestigious tournament for the third, and final, year in a row. There was considerable competition among these players, as the field contained star juniors, standout college golfers, professional golfers, PGA professionals, and more. Players were selected through a combination of exemptions and five qualifiers throughout July. Despite temperatures well above average and an hour-long severe weather delay during the third round, the final result went down in Kentucky golf history.

Lexington’s Justin Tereshko, the head men’s golf coach at Eastern Kentucky University, hoisted the Jack Ryan championship trophy to add the event to his already impressive resume. Shooting 6565-70-200, he totaled 16-under par for the tournament and finished nine strokes ahead of the rest of the field. He stated after the round it was “tough to sleep on a lead”, but he created a successful strategy focusing on playing to the middle of the green and “two-putting from 30 feet” rather than trying to attack some of the more difficult final-round pin placements. The amateur becomes just the fourth person in state history to win both the Kentucky Open and the Kentucky State Amateur (June 13-15) in the same year. Tereshko joins the list of golf stars Jodie Mudd, J.B. Holmes, and Phil Hendrickson as the lone four to accomplish this incredible feat in the over 100 times both events have been played. In addition to these two state titles, Tereshko also qualified for the 2023 United States Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills in Cherry Hills, Colorado, with scores of 69-64133. He will then return to EKU for his second year as head coach.

Tereshko took home both the championship trophy and low amateur honors. On the professional side, Dustin Denzik of Louisville won low professional honors with scores of 67-70-72-209. For the Kentucky PGA professionals, Tom Walters, Head Golf Professional at Summit Hills Country Club, won low honors with scores of 70-70-71-211. Another feat was accomplished earlier in the week by professional Fred Meyers, who set the new Persimmon Ridge Course record with a firstround 64. Meyers totaled 210 and finished in third place.

The 2024 Kentucky Open moves locations for the first time in three years and will be played at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky.