The 23rd annual Straight Down Fall Classic will tee off at San Luis Obispo Country Club on Saturday and Sunday. The field will once again feature PGA Tour winners and some of the country’s top amateur players.
Cal Poly alum Loren Roberts, an eight-time PGA Tour champion, and San Luis Obispo native Arron Oberholser are among the notable pros returning to the Central Coast for this scratch best-ball event. Roberts also was runner-up in the 1994 U.S. Open and played on the 1995 Ryder Cup team. Oberholser won the 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and now serves as a Golf Channel analyst.
"This is my hometown, I grew up here," Roberts said. "Golf has been my life for the last 40 years, so it's great to just be here and see guys I only get to see once a year."
Admission is free to the public.
Other PGA Tour winners in the field include Kenny Perry, Jason Gore, Steve Pate, Paul Stankowski and Rod Pampling. Pampling will play alongside the Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ, who’s playing the event for a second consecutive year. Edward Loar, who once beat Ernie Els to win the Korean Open, and Chico State alum Brandon Harkins, who played on the PGA Tour in 2019, are other pros competing this weekend.
The Fall Classic is the only time each year that PGA Tour players visit the California Coast between Monterey and Los Angeles counties. Unlike most professional events, the Straight Down Fall Classic doesn’t have gallery ropes. Fans can walk alongside famous players like Perry, a 14-time PGA Tour winner and member of the victorious 2008 Ryder Cup team. The tournament's free admission and low food and beverage prices add to the event's old-school feel. The tournament is conducted by Straight Down, a San Luis Obispo-based clothing company.
"You can just have a good time, let your hair down a little bit, and just go get it," Perry said. "If it works out, great. If it doesn't, it'll still be a lot of fun to hang out."
"You know, I'll maybe have a chat with the crowd that's out there and tell them what kind of shot I'm trying to play. Hopefully, I'll pull it off," Pampling added. "It'll be a great atmosphere and the weather will be perfect."
Corby Segal and Scott Heyn won last year’s Fall Classic, their third victory in the past seven years.
The Straight Down Fall Classic begins with a Friday pro-am before two rounds of tournament play. Saturday’s tee times will begin at 8 a.m., while the final round will begin at 7:30 Sunday morning. More information can be found at StraightDown.com.
-Provided by Straight Down Fall Classic
