Past Masters champion Mike Weir will look for another high finish at this year ’ s Dominion Energy Charity Classic .
TOURNEY TIME
DOMINION ENERGY CHARITY CLASSIC
USGA ( 3 )
“ We look forward to building on the charitable impact we have had since the tournament ’ s inception in 2016 . After last year ’ s tournament , our cumulative charitable impact on the local community surpassed $ 5.1 million .”
— Steve Schoenfeld , Executive Director
week and defeated Steve Stricker in a playoff . It was his first professional victory since the Puerto Rico Open in 2015 and broke a winless streak of 6 years , 2 months and 1 day . It took just 21 days before he won again in the Senior PGA .
Cejka became the first player to win his first two senior major starts since Arnold Palmer ( 1980-81 ) and the first rookie to win two majors since Jack Nicklaus in 1990 .
Weir picked up his initial victory on Tour by winning the Insperity Invitational . The past Masters Tournament champion went 13 years , 6 months and 11 days between victories . His last win on the PGA Tour was the 2007 Safeway Open .
Pride ’ s first title on the senior circuit , the Mitsubishi Electric Classic , gave him the distinction of 18th player to win at least once on the PGA Tour , PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry Tour . He went 5 years , 8 months and 16 days between victories .
Beckman won the Dick ’ s Sporting Goods Open a week after he bought a putter at a Dick ’ s store . He won three times on the PGA Tour , including the Mayakoba Golf Classic in 2010 . He didn ’ t win again for 11 years , 4 months and 13 days .
COMMUNITY IMPACT Schoenfeld is ready to experience again the vitality spectators , volunteers , CCV members , corporate partners , Dominion employees , vendors and others bring to one of the most popular tournaments on the Tour .
“ The community is what makes our event as good as it is . We love the fact the tournament brings together so many people each year ,” Schoenfeld said . “ We look forward to building on the charitable impact we have had since the tournament ’ s inception in 2016 . After last year ’ s tournament , our cumulative charitable impact on the local community surpassed $ 5.1 million .”
WHAT : Sixth renewal of the PGA Tour Champions event , which in 2021 returns to its spot as the first stop of the three-tournament race to the Charles Schwab Cup . It was part of the regular season in 2020 due to the wraparound 2020-21 season forced by the pandemic . WHEN : Oct . 22-24 WHERE : Country Club of Virginia James River Course designed by William Flynn with a renovation by Lester George in 2003 . FIELD / PURSE : The top 72 players in the Charles Schwab Cup standings qualify for the DECC , with the top 54 after the DECC advancing to the second playoff event . Purse is $ 2 million , with $ 300,000 going to the winner . PAST CHAMPIONS : 2016 : Scott McCarron in a playoff ; 2017 : Bernhard Langer by one stroke ; 2018 : Woody Austin by one stroke ; 2019 : Miguel Angel Jimenez by two strokes ; 2020 : Phil Mickelson by three strokes . PLAYERS TO WATCH : Several players have won multiple times during the long wraparound season , including three-time winner Jim Furyk and two-time winners Jerry Kelly , Ernie Els , Miguel Angel Jimenez , Kevin Sutherland , Steve Stricker , Darren Clarke , Alex Cejka and Phil Mickelson . Others in the top 20 of the Schwab Cup standings to watch include Retief Goosen , Robert Karlsson , Fred Couples , Tim Petrovic , Woody Austin , Rod Pampling and David Toms . TELEVISION ON GOLF CHANNEL : 2-5 p . m . each day of the competition PRO-AM RENAMED IN FARRELL ’ S HONOR The Dominion Energy Charity Classic Pro-Am , held on the two days before the event , will now be known as the Tom Farrell Memorial Pro-Am . The renaming honors the late CEO of Dominion Energy who was the driving force behind bringing the event to Richmond .
“ Tom ’ s vision and leadership made the Dominion Energy Charity Classic a top-tier event on the PGA Tour Champions schedule , and we are honored to celebrate his legacy and the impact he made on our Tour and in the Richmond community ,” PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said .
vsga . org S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2021 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 21