The Players Championship Honors Military

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Gay, Navy Public Affairs Support Element East, Detachment Southeast

May 9, 2010 - PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (NNS) -- Service members from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard were honored during Military Appreciation Night at The Players Club (TPC) Sawgrass May 5.

The ceremony began with the national anthem followed by a fly over by jets from the Navy's Blue Angels.

"Military appreciation day is a fantastic deal," said Blue Angel's Command Master Chief Yoshimi Core. "The people here take care of the military and you can really see the effort by the community to make sure we know they appreciate us."

"It means a lot to us on the tour to be a big supporter of the military and it will continue to mean a lot to us," said professional golfer Fred Funk, who won the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in 2005.

Service members lined the balconies of the clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass for a performance by country music star Tim McGraw. He was escorted to the stage by a Sailor and performed a special five-song concert for the troops.

"It's always an honor to represent the Navy and the military, but escorting someone whose music I love, made the event even more meaningful," said Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Monica Nelson, who was previously selected as Commander, Navy Region Southeast 2010 Sailor of the Year.

The music performance by the three-time Grammy award winner was the final gesture of the night by the Players Championship and local community to show support.

"It's important that the community takes the opportunity to recognize the sacrifice of the men and women in uniform," said Rear Adm. Townsend Alexander, commander, Navy Region Southeast. "Tonight is a great event. The Players Championship and the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) tour are yearlong supporters of our armed services."

TPC Sawgrass representatives, as well as professional golfers such as Funk welcomed members of the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard during the night.

"It's a really small thing that we can do. This is for everything that our military does for us. If the military was not doing what they were doing, we could not do what we do."

The ceremony, which was attended by service members from military installations throughout the Florida and Georgia area, was summed up by professional golfer Hal Sutton, "Wow, am I proud to be an American today."