Aero and explosives detection team seal Sawgrass grounds

The Players Championship Journal
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Aero and explosives detection team seal Sawgrass grounds
Vic Micolucci

Deputy Josh Underwood and K-9 partner Aero inspect a vehicle at gate B Friday.


Aero walked around the truck, pushing his nose in the wheel wells and ducking under the carriage of the vehicle. He didn’t sit.

“All clear, sir,” said Deputy Josh Underwood of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, “you’re good to go.” The explosive detection team waved the driver on as he drove past the checkpoint at gate B.

Underwood and his K-9 partner, Aero, serve as an integral part of the safety measures taken at this year’s Players Championship. The Ponte Vedra course is patrolled and protected by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the neighboring Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

The deputies are in charge of threat prevention at the tournament. Each morning, teams perform bomb sweeps throughout the clubhouse and the entire Sawgrass course. Fans are not admitted to the event and players do not tee off until sheriff’s deputies and explosive detection dogs clear the area. Though the threat level at the TPC is very low, each year the police teams cover all the bases to ensure guest and golfer security.

The team, whose shift starts at 4:30 each morning, inspects vehicles and cargo at the entrance checkpoints. Three dogs are responsible for screening the incoming autos for signs of explosives. The officers work quickly and thoroughly; each search only takes about 30 seconds.

The bomb detection team has never had any problems on the course or at the gate checkpoints. “We haven’t ever found anything dangerous. There have been no credible threats,” explained Volusia County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Webster. The officer, who is also an FBI-trained bomb technician, said at least two bomb technicians watch the course each day should an incident ever occur.

The St. Johns and Volusia explosives coalition does not expect to detect suspicious cargo but treats every vehicle as a potential threat.