Shaw Charity Classic: A primer

More than 50,000 spectators are expected to head to Calgary’s Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club this week for the inaugural Shaw Charity Classic. With some of the legendary names of professional golf playing in the event – including Fred Couples, Nick Price, Mark O’Meara and Tom Lehman – the tournament is sure to draw golf and sports fans alike.

The schedule:

• Pro-Ams, where amateurs play with Champions Tour golfers, are held Wednesday and Thursday at Canyon Meadows
• 81 players will compete in the tournament that starts on Friday and will be completed Sunday. The final round should be completed by around 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The tournament:

• $2-million purse with the winner taking $300,000.
• Unlike most Champions Tour events where players use split tees (teeing off both the first and 10^th tee), all golfers will play from the first tee at Canyon Meadows.
• Players will use carts during practice rounds, but will walk during the three-day tournament. This practice usually only occurs during majors on the Champions Tour.

The course:

• Held at Canyon Meadows and Country Club
• The course will hold the tournament for the next three years
• A parkland-style golf course with large trees and rolling fairways

What to watch for:

• Key holes include the 15^th and 18^th, both reachable par fives that many think will make the difference in the tournament.
• “The course has little elevation, making it easy to get around,” says tournament director Sean Van Kesteren. “It is quite straight forward and has unbelievable greens.”

If you go:

• Ticket prices: $30 in advance/$40 at gate for the three days of the tournament (Friday through Sunday)
• $10 for pro-am in advance and $15 at the gate for Wednesday and Thursday
• Autographs are permitted during the pro-am and after a player’s round.
• Cameras are permitted only during the pro-am

Notable:

• There is a free Great Big Sea concert happening Aug. 29 at Millennium Park as part of the tournament.
• There are 1,200 volunteers involved in the tournament.
• Tournament organizers are expecting 50,000 spectators over the course of the week.
• A charter was used to bring players from Seattle to Calgary in time for the Monday Pro-Am. About 30 players, including Canadians Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge, took the charter.