You may see a few more people around town this week than usual, along with shuttles and courtesy cars. They’re players, caddies, officials and other folks involved in the Small Business Connection Championship at River Run. You might know it as the Chiquita Classic, the name it had the previous two years. But with Chiquita now gone from Charlotte, they’ve taken their name off the event.
As in past years, the tournament is one of four finals events on the Web.com Tour, one step below the big-time PGA Tour. The winners of the previous two tourneys at River Run – Andrew Svoboda (2013) and Adam Hadwin (2014) – both are now on the PGA TOUR.
It’s a big deal, with players competing for a $1 million purse (winner gets $180,000), as well as a chance to earn a PGA Tour card for next year.
Expect to see a bit of traffic as events rev up this week. Pro practice rounds were scheduled Monday and Tuesday, and a Pro-Am Wednesday. The actual tournament runs Thursday to Sunday, when access to the River Run neighborhood will be limited. Those going to watch the golf will park off-site and pick up shuttles to the clubhouse.
See the full schedule, parking and other details: http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/tournaments/small-business-connection-championship-at-river-run/local-info.html
The Town of Davidson is airing an ad on the Golf Channel during the tournament. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZSOieS8SLc&feature=youtu.be
David Boraks 