Shaw Charity Classic to return with fans
There might not be the usual roars, but you'll still hear some hoots, hollers and applause after any birdie — or better yet, eagle — at the 2021 Shaw Charity Classic.
Tournament officials now have the necessary approvals to host a “modified version” of Calgary's record-setting stop on the PGA Tour Champions, including plans to allow 2,000 spectators per day — roughly 15 per cent of the usual attendance — during the three-round senior shootout next month at Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club.
The Shaw Charity Classic, set for Aug. 13-15, will be the first high-profile professional golf event on Canadian soil since the start of the pandemic.
“For the folks that are going to be there, they'll have front-row seats. They won't be fighting for the best views,” said tournament director Sean Van Kesteren, whose staff will be busy selling all-inclusive premium-pass tickets that come with food, drink, access to open-air hospitality areas and the chance to see some of the biggest names in the sport from behind the ropes. “It's going to be a very cool event.”
In golf-crazed Calgary, this will likely be a hot ticket.
In seven previous instalments, the Shaw Charity Classic has averaged about 40,000 fans during a normal tournament week.
That includes a smattering of spectators during pro-am action, although those will be closed events in 2021.
Organizers have been in constant contact with public health authorities, who have now green-lighted plans for a bubble environment for about 250 people arriving from outside of Canada — a list that includes, players, caddies, the Golf Channel broadcast team and tour staff.
That's significant news, especially since both of Golf Canada's marquee events — the PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open and the LPGA Tour's CP Women's Open — were cancelled for a second consecutive year due to the challenges of COVID-19.
The Shaw Charity Classic will reveal its full slate of safety protocols later this month.
“It would have been disappointing to not be able to go two years in a row, for lots of reasons, but most important of all is we know what this event means for the community,” Van Kesteren said. “We certainly understand it's going to be a much different event this year, but everyone was really willing to put their best foot forward to make this happen, and we're fortunate that we were able to. We are going to have a great event. It's just going to be a little bit different.”
Not everything will be different.
Van Kesteren is again anticipating a star-studded lineup. Canada's beloved lefty and 2003 Masters champion, Mike Weir, has been waiting to tee it up at Canyon Meadows since turning 50 last year, while the 81-man field should also include several World Golf Hall-of-famers.
And this modified edition of the Shaw Charity Classic will, without a doubt, raise a pile of money. This award-winning tournament has racked up more than $61 million in donations since 2013 and there are 233 youth-based organizations signed up to benefit this year from the Shaw Birdies For Kids program. (They cut cheques for a total of $12.5 million in 2020, and that's without a single shot being struck.)
That's yet another reason for a limited number of fans to make a lot of noise when the senior stars return to Canyon Meadows next month.
“It's going to be good for Calgary. It's going to be good for Alberta,” Van Kesteren said. “It's going to be great having Mike and Stephen (Ames), who has also been playing really well. We're going to have a great Canadian contingent and at this point in time, the field looks very, very strong. So we're really excited.”
The Shaw Charity Classic also announced Monday the addition of Suncor as a presenting sponsor.