BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Preliminaries for the 16th playing of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open − part PGA Tour Champions tournament, part musical treat and part old-home week − get underway at En-Joie Golf Course in earnest Wednesday and the event continues through the conclusion of final-round play Sunday.
The defending champion could hardly be of higher profile, and ditto for the Friday night concert headliner relative to modern country acts.
The former, Padraig Harrington, has gone down as one of the most popular champions since the Dick’s Open’s 2007 inaugural event, for reasons extending beyond scoreboard superiority.
The latter, Kenny Chesney, represents a high blip on the tournament’s screen in terms of big-timers to perform Friday night off the 18th green.
“I’d like to think we’ve got a lot going for everybody, whether it’s people watchers, golf fans, kids − the whole bit,” said tournament director John Karedes.
All told, it would appear the latest in a long line of summertime sports and entertainment offerings in Endicott is up to snuff, though falling on a mighty crowded weekend. For how that might impact the masses, one needn’t look beyond Karedes, who’ll duck away from the premises to attend son Jake’s graduation Saturday morning.
Padraig Harrington and his wife, Caroline and sons Patrick and Ciaran pose with the trophy after Harrington won the 2022 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, New York. (Photo: Ryan Young/Getty Images)
“It’s actually the kids, because certain ages are still going to have finals. So, it is making it a little bit more challenging for some of those organizations where kids under 18 do help us,” Karedes said of the graduation-weekend conflict. “But I think we’re covered. It just took a bit more creativity and a few more phone calls to get it done. But I think we’re in good shape.”
For many visitors, the week’s highlight will come after sundown Friday when Chesney walks on stage. He and his band played to 1.3 million fans on their 2022 Tour, stops including 21 NFL venues.
Darren Clarke finished the day at -4 to be in contention for a win at -7
“We’re bringing that show to Endicott and it’s big. I think it’s the biggest show that we’ve had when it comes to the name, the star power,” Karedes said. “But what we’re going to do is make it like a 14,000-people night. This isn’t going to be a 20,000-type night with fans.”
Concert attendees…
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