The PGA Champion’s Tour heads north of the border and touches down in Calgary, in the Alberta region of Canada for the 12th and latest edition of the Rogers Charity Classic.
Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club will set the backdrop for three days as Ken Duke comes back to town to defend his title from last year. He will be one of six past champions teeing it up in Calgary.
Darren Clarke heads into the event in 29th on the Charles Schwab Cup rankings as the season heats up, while Padraig Harrington also returns to Champion’s Tour action. He currently sits ninth in the standings ahead of the week and is one of seven of the top 10 in action in Canada.
Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Stephen Ames comes in fresh off the back of a Sunday fightback to win the Boeing Classic where he made ground to tour leader Ernie Els, who is also in fine form after his tie for second last week. Ames also looks to become the first four-time winner this season. He and Els are currently tied with three wins each. Steven Alker too sits in a rich vein of form as the top three all shone in Seattle, he finished tied with Els after another competitive showing.
Harrington has been making hay on Tour this season with victories to his name at the DICK’S Open and at the Hoag Classic at Newport Beach. He also has four top 10s under his belt which helped move him into the sharp end of the Order of Merit, but with ground to make up on Tour leader Els. Clarke too has four top-10 finishes this year but is still in search of that illusive first victory of the season. He finished in a tie for fourth spot last year just three strokes adrift of winner, Duke. With seven events remaining in the regular season, there will be plenty of movement on the leaderboard over the coming weeks.
Canyon Meadows will be a 7093-yard stroll for the field and playing to a par-70 over the three days for all 78 with no cut involved. Expect action over the five par-threes over the weekend, the shortest of which is a 157-yard tempter at the 14th hole. Three par-fives await including two on the back nine culminating with a 585-yard challenger on the final hole which could provide drama on Sunday.
Canada’s own Mike Weir will tee it up for the Rogers Classic and he knows the significance of this to the home audience as the International Team Captain for the upcoming President’s Cup. With the tournament returning to Canadian shores for the first time in 17 years, he was quick to acknowledge the importance of events such as this for golf in the country and spoke on how his preparations have unfolded.
“Yeah, the international team, a lot of the behind-the-scenes things are done. It’s really focused on the players now. There are two weeks left of the qualification process,” he said. “You know, this is crunch time for a lot of players. We have six automatic spots off the world rankings and then six picks with a lot of Canadians in the mix, so hoping they’re going to really play well the next couple weeks and that I can pick them for the team. As I’ve said all along, it’s an international team. It’s not Team Canada, so you have to be fair to everybody. A lot of guys are playing well. I really like our team the way it’s shaping up. Yeah, guys are very excited. Been engaged with the players since the get-go, since I became the captain. Players have reached out to me and they’re very excited to be on the team.”
Harrington will hit the course at 7.20pm Irish-time in a big three-ball with Stephen Ames on home turf and Vijay Singh. Clarke will head out, also off the first, with K.J. Choi and David Toms for company as they start their journey at 6.49pm.
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