Best 55+ golfers in world gather in Saugeen Shores

The Saugeen Golf Club is hosting the Canadian Men's Senior Championships this week and weekend near Port Elgin.

"These guys are the top senior amateur players basically worldwide. We have players here from New Zealand and Australia and the U.S. and England. I probably missed a couple of countries, Paraguay," said Chairman of the tournament organizing committee, Ken Dunlop.

156 players from around the world will tee it up near Port Elgin, for a shot to play at the World Senior Men's Championship.

"If they're good enough to win it, they go higher in the World Golf rankings – and that's important to them as players. Having said that, there's probably only 30 guys that really have a chance to win this out of the 156 that are in. The other 120 players, they're here to have a good time to enjoy the camaraderie of their peers in the golf industry and the golf players themselves," said Dunlop.

Make no mistake, while there is no purse or cash prize at the end of the tournament, and no PGA card to vie for, these golfers are competitors; they are playing to win.

Play begins September 12, 2024, at the Canadian Men's Senior Championships at the Saugeen Golf Club near Port Elgin. 156 of the best 55+ golfers in the world teeing it up, through Sunday (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

"We're all out here to win, and we're all out here to try and do our best - but if somebody beats me, I will shake their hand and say, ‘congratulations. Well done.’ You know, we're not going to go home and kick the dog. So yeah, it's fantastic," said Ken Brewer, a competitor from Newcastle, Australia.

"I play the game for competition. Plus, all the guys - I mean, I've played with them for the last 40 years off and on, and you see guys from other provinces you see once a year and it's like you talked to him last week. I mean, it's fun to get together with everybody and go out and play hard and then go enjoy it after," said 2013 Canadian Men's Senior Champion, David Schultz from Calgary, Alberta.

This is by far the biggest and most prestigious tournament held at the Saugeen Golf Club to date, the first of many national golf tournaments they hope to host in the future.

"Well, we think it means a lot to us. It's going to show the golfing community across North America that, here in Saugeen Shores, we have one of the best golf courses in Canada. And we're quite proud of that," said Dunlop.

Play begins tomorrow, with the top 70 golfers in the hunt for top spot, starting Saturday. You can learn more about the tournament, including how to head down and watch some of the best 55+ golfers in the world compete, by visiting https://saugeengolf.com/news-events/seniors/.