A hole- in- one for fans and players
Shaw Charity Classic has raised $ 4.7 million for children’s charities
It’s the darling of golf’s legendary Champions Tour in a sports- mad city.
The Shaw Charity Classic has broken donation and attendance records, and racked up two prestigious awards.
“It’s nice to back a winner and, like the Flames and Stampeders, we have a winner here,” tournament executive director Sean Van Kesteren says of the third- year tournament for professional golfers 50 and over.
“Golf is the most popular participatory sport in Calgary and it was a marketplace starving for golf at this level,” he says of the event to be held at the Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club Aug. 5- 9.
Certainly, it will be hard to improve upon last year’s drama when superstar ( and crowd favourite) Fred Couples broke a course record with a 61 the final day, including a chip- in eagle on the 54th and final hole. That forced a playoff with Billy Andrade. Couples, who started the day six shots behind, posted the win in front of thousands of Calgarians with a birdie on the first extra hole.
“Many of these players are better now than when they were on the PGA Tour,” Van Kesteren says, adding some still compete on both tours.
Three players coming to Calgary recently competed at the U. S. Open, with Champions Tour points leader Colin Montgomerie making the final cut.
And, Van Kesteren points out, the 81 golfers who will compete in Calgary are not only extraordinary players, they like to entertain — a bonus because this year, for the first time, the Golf Channel will broadcast Saturday’s and Sunday’s action live.
“This is a must- play event now. They love the fans; they love how they are treated here with firstclass hospitality. A lot of them bring their families and stick around afterwards.”
And the biggest attraction may be the thousands of multi- generational fans who have turned out to watch them play, collect autographs and shake hands with the legends.
“They love playing in front of people — there is a palpable difference when they are playing in front of a thousand people versus four,” Van Kesteren says.
The current Big Three legends — Bernhard Langer, Couples and Montgomerie — are among 32 Champions Tour members in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
It is hoped all three will be in Calgary this August.
Rocco Mediate, who won the first Shaw Charity Classic, is already confirmed for play, along with a raft of PGA Tour Major winners seeking a piece of the $ 2.35- million US purse, including $ 337,500 for the winner.
The event has been a hit for local groups, too, with $ 4.7 million distributed over the past two years to charities that help children. This year, the fundraising target has ambitiously been raised to $ 4 million.
Calgary’s support of the event, the quality of the tour stop for players and the enthusiastic volunteer and crowd support have not gone unnoticed.
In its first year, the tournament received the PGA Tour’s outstanding achievement award; last year it captured the President’s Award, the first time an event outside the United States won the honour recognizing overall excellence.
The tournament’s three- year contract was also extended for another two by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, with Shaw’s renewed commitment as title sponsor.
Finchem also indicated that, because of overwhelming support given the Champions Tour in Calgary, his organization would look at the city for a possible PGA Tour tournament.
This year, Van Kesteren admits, will be more challenging with the economic downturn.
But the tournament is upping its game with increased winnings and charity targets, and enhanced audience experiences including music, happy hour after play in the spectators’ village, more vendors, giveaways and fun things for the kids.