Dick's Sporting Goods Open to mark 1000th Champions Tour event

I'm headed to Binghamton, NY to cover the Dick's Sporting Goods Open this weekend for Golf World, and I couldn't be more thrilled. For one thing, it marks my opportunity to interview Fred Funk (my hero growing up, and a huge influence on the career path that I have tried to embark on) . For another, it marks the first time I get to actually cover an event for a real magazine, where I file stories for national print and digital publication. After my summer on the road following the Web.com Tour last summer, filing stories for my loyal readers on this blog (who I am very grateful for!), this gives me the chance to take my experience to a whole new level.

Now, to be sure, it's not as if I've been asked to write any big feature or exclusive on event. I will write a simple, short game story of the event and a news item on a player or interesting occurrence for Ryan Herrington's Tour Talk section of the magazine, along with one or two short items on the event (likely related to the winner) for Tim Murphy's Golf World Monday. It may not be much, but it's definitely something, and I am just genuinely excited to report on a Champions Tour event - especially the one at En-Joie GC outside Binghamton, which I attended many times over the years with my dad, grandparents, brothers and friends. It's a great course to spectate at, any easy course to walk, and the community always seems to enjoy having the pros in town.

Another cool milestone I'll be a part of: the event marks the 1,000th official event on the Champions Tour. The 50-and-older tour started in the early 1980s and has trucked along for over 30 years, giving older fans the chance to see the heroes of their youth in a competitive setting for a few extra years, along with of course giving the top players a chance to grow their bank accounts with a few good (or great) years of play. I look forward to seeing whether the Tour or the community has anything in store to celebrate the noteworthy milestone.

Although I'll be writing for Golf World, I certainly plan on upholding my tradition of covering the event via this blog, as I do whenever I am lucky enough to have media credentials for an event. Tee times have still not been released yet, but play should get underway sometime Friday morning. Coverage will be tape-delayed on Golf Channel, so television-related accommodations will not play a role on the weekend - when tee times are sometimes moved up so play can finish inside Golf Channel's 1-3 pm (or so) window. Therefore, expect a proper late-afternoon finish on Saturday and Sunday, as, of course, it should be.

Also pretty sure that Phil Stambaugh will be running things media-wise from the Tour's side, so it will be cool to catch up with him again, after meeting him last year at the Web.com event in Wichita. Not sure I'm staying yet, but I always enjoy the Del Motel (I have stayed there in the past) and will likely end up there come Friday evening.

All in all, it will be a great way to wrap up my official time at Golf World. En-Joie, here I come.