According to the Canadian Press on Thursday, the 2020 Shaw Charity Classic has been cancelled because of coronavirus. The golf event which is held annually at the Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club in Calgary, Alberta, is part of the Champions Tour. It was to take place from August 28-30, 2020.
The three-day event has 54 holes to determine a champion. The shortened tournament is frequent on the Champions Tour, as the golfers are 50 years of age or older. The 2020 Shaw Charity Classic was supposed to be exciting for Canadian golf fans, as Canadian golf legend Mike Weir of Sarnia, Ontario was scheduled to participate for the first time. Weir, who turned 50 years of age on May 12, is the only Canadian male golfer ever to win a major title, as he won the 2003 Masters in Augusta, Georgia.
The Champions Tour has taken place in Calgary since 2013. Scott McCarron of Sacramento, California is the only multi-champion as he won in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018. Only one major winner has won the Shaw Charity Classic in the past. That was Fred Couples of Seattle, Washington, who won the Masters, in 1992. There has also been only one non-American who has won the Shaw Charity Classic. That was Carlos Franco of Asuncion, Paraguay, who won in 2016.
Finally, the defending Shaw Charity Classic winner was Wes Short Jr. of Austin Texas. Short Jr. won one time on the PGA Tour. That came in 2005 when he beat Jim Furyk of West Chester, Pennsylvania, at the Michelin Championship in Las Vegas. Ironically, Furyk, who shares the exact same birthday as Weir, and won the 2003 U.S. Open, was also scheduled to make his Shaw Charity Classic debut in August.
The fact that the Shaw Charity Classic has been cancelled is no surprise. The city of Calgary has banned all large events and there are still strong international travel restrictions and regulations for people coming into Canada. For example, they have to self isolate for 14 days. There are currently 7316 cases of coronavirus in Alberta and 159 deaths.
