My first prediction of 2015: the Tucson Conquistadors Classic, a $1.6 million Champions Tour event March 20-22 at Tucson National, will have larger galleries than the old WGC-Accenture Match Play Championships.
The Conquistadores are aggressively in pursuit of an elite field and already have two of the Champions Tour’s “Big Four”: Bernard Langer and Colin Montgomerie. Both have booked rooms at the Omni Tucson National.
The next two targets are Fred Couples and Tom Watson. I suspect the Conquistadores will launch marketing of their event with the announcement of Couples’ commitment in several weeks.
It is encouraging that this week’s Champions Tour season debut, in Hawaii, includes Watson, Rocco Mediate, Davis Love III, Ben Crenshaw, Craig Stadler, Peter Jacobsen and Hale Irwin.
There should be no “I’m-too-busy” or Phil Mickelson’s famous “I’m-on-vacation” excuses for not playing in Tucson. There is a five-week gap in the Champions Tour schedule, from the Feb. 15 finish of the ACE Group Classic in Naples, Florida, to the Conquistadores Classic on March 20.
