Ames to return for Rogers Charity Classic next month
It wouldn't be the Rogers Charity Classic without Stephen Ames.
So the annual PGA Tour Champions stop in Calgary is pleased to have the Canadian golf legend back on the course for the 2024 edition.
Ames was among the confirmed names added Wednesday to the field at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club from Aug. 14 to 18.
It's a star-studded pack of 12 more golf greats for the tee sheet of the 2024 Rogers Charity Classic in the city's southwest.
“Many of us worked very hard to bring an event of this calibre to this market,” said Ames, who is part of the eight-person philanthropic Patron Group backing the award-winning tournament in Calgary since its inception in 2013.
Adding to the international flavour of Canada's lone PGA Tour Champions stop is an impressive lineup of top names in golf from around the world who have also booked their tickets to Calgary.
Among those fellow golfers most recently confirmed with Ames are Steven Alker (New Zealand), Billy Andrade (United States), K.J. Choi (South Korea), David Frost (South Africa), Fred Funk (U.S.) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain).
Also in for 2024 as of Wednesday are five of the tournament's previous winners, including defending champion Ken Duke (2023). Jerry Kelly (2022), Doug Barron (2021), Scott Mccarron (2018, 2017) and Jeff Maggert (2015) are the others.
That announced group joins a talented field of previously confirmed World Golf Hall of Famers in Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, José María Olazábal and Vijay Singh as well as 15 major champions on the PGA Tour, including Team Rogers athlete Mike Weir, Darren Clarke, John Daly, David Duval, Tom Lehman and David Toms.
“The real winner of the event is obviously going to be the charities again,” Ames said. “And that's what the tournament was made for, more than anything else.”
But there's also a winner on the course.
And Ames' play recently has him coming in as a contender for the title. The 60-year-old comes to his former Calgary home on a hot streak, sitting second on the 2024 Charles Schwab Cup money list with two victories — including six dating back to 2023 — to go along with 10 top-10 finishes this year.