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NAPLES, Fla. - Tucked conspicuously in the corner of the Tiburón Golf Club parking lot is a small caravan of trailers. One is scoring central, one is PGA Tour headquarters for the week and the largest, most heavily trafficked, belongs to The Shark Shootout tournament staff.
For 11 months, the tournament staff resides in more spacious digs on both Florida coasts. As Halloween approaches, they relocate. This temporary home offers close proximity to both the Greg Norman designed Tiburón track and the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort, Naples.
As soon as you ascend the six stairs, swing open the main door and step inside you become a part of the non-stop activity - in large part because it is required to turn sideways to avoid people darting from one side of the trailer to the other.
There are six work stations spaced snugly and at no time does the telephone stop ringing. Questions 72 hours before the first tee ball is struck range from ticket requests, volunteer inquiries, directions, and much more.
Tournament Director Gina Monterossi and three others work full-time on the Shootout. They enlisted the services of two volunteers, who have been onboard for the last six months.
"We have assembled a team that is both a pleasure to work with and more than capable of handling all that is thrown at them," Monterossi said. "These last few days are stressful, but it's great to look around this room and see that everyone is on the same page."
"It's a blast, and while many of the same details need to be worked out every year, you're never quite sure what's going to happen," said Taylor Ives, Shark Shootout Tournament Manager. "I have a great time with this event, but I'm also looking forward to Sunday night."
The Shootout may be 24 players competing over 54 holes, but it requires year-round effort to make sure it exceeds the host's expectations.
Norman and 23 of his PGA Tour brethren will kick off the week's festivities with a Pro-am Pairings Party Tuesday evening. A two-day Pro-am will follow and the tournament proper will begin Friday morning at 10:25 am ET.
Norman and Fred Couples will tee off at 11:05 alongside a pair of U.S. amateur champions, David Gossett and Matt Kuchar.
"This is the 14th year we've hosted the Shootout, and it gets better every year," Norman said. "The staff does a tremendous job catering to the players, volunteers and spectators. It is a great sense of pride when tournament week comes to an end and I hear all the positive feedback."
The first round will be televised on The Golf Channel and Fox Sports Net at 1:30 p.m. ET (replayed on The Golf Channel from 8-10:30 p.m. Tuesday).
You can follow all the action with Shark.com's Live Leaderboard.
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