BINGHAMTON, New York — Off one dark year followed by a decidedly modified version last summer, the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open is in celebratory mode for its return to presumed normalcy this week at En-Joie Golf Course.
Stars of the 50-and-over set are aligned in fine fashion to compete for $2.1 million in prize money on a municipal course that will host PGA Tour-sanctioned golf for the 51st time.
Competition is to commence Friday morning, with the conclusion of play − if all goes according to script − to come roughly 5:30 Sunday in Endicott.
Aside from utilization of digital tickets, which has become increasingly popular in the sports and entertainment industries, there’ll be no remnants of last year’s ticketing model. For 2021, when in deference to lingering COVID precautions capacity was capped at 5,000 per day − including for Friday’s Old Dominion concert − there were no exceptions to the $500 all-inclusive package for the tournament proper.
The field has been assembled — entries closed at 5 p.m. Friday and participants in the $2.1 million PGA Tour Champions event are to include:
• Steven Alker, who tops the PGA Tour Champions’ 2022 earnings list with $2,321,361.
• Alex Cejka, who has three top-four finishes this season.
• Darren Clarke, winner of last month’s Senior British Open.
• Ernie Els, runner-up by a stroke last summer in his Dick’s Open debut.
• Jim Furyk, a 17-time winner on the regular tour who was a three-time winner and three-time runner-up in 2020-21.
• Padraig Harrington, two-time British Open winner and this year’s U.S. Senior Open champion.
• Miguel Angel Jimenez, 10-time top-10 finisher this year who won last weekend’s Boeing Classic.
• Bernhard Langer, 43-time PGA Tour Champions winner who topped the 2014 Dick’s Open.
“I had a great time last year and you had a great champion, Cameron Beckman,” Els said via video on Twitter. “ … I’m really looking forward to coming back and enjoying the golf course and the people. Everything about the Dick’s tournament is just world-class.”
The 78-player field will be rounded out in today’s four-spot qualifier at The Links at Hiawatha Landing in Apalachin.
The Dick’s Sporting Goods Open has been played every year in Endicott from 2007 on, but for 2020, when the event was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just one previous Dick’s Open wrap-up round has been played later in a calendar year than will be this week’s Aug. 21 closer. That came in 2015 when on Aug. 30, Jeff Maggert completed a two-stroke win over Paul Goydos for his fourth victory in a 10-start span − as an astute columnist wrote, “ … fairly well Langerian, or back in the day, Irwinian.”
A pre-competition treat comes in the form of the UHS Golf Expo featuring World Golf Hall of Fame member and PGA Tour Champions legend Bernhard Langer. That’ll be held Wednesday, with Langer’s presentation to come some time in the 6:15 p.m. range on the 18th green.
