It could have been a scene out of “Groundhog Day.”
As golfers completed their weekends at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic on Sunday and made their way off the 18th green, two volunteers waited for them to come through.
Each time one of the Champions Tour players exited, the volunteers thanked them for coming to Omni Tucson National Golf Resort.
This went on for several hours.
“It’s really nice to hear, ‘Thanks for coming, it’s great to see you,’” said 1995 U.S. Open champion Corey Pavin, who finished tied for 18th over the weekend. “It really means a lot to me to hear people say that. It means a lot to all the guys.
“Maybe it was because this was the first year we were back in a long time, but there was an extra thanks this week.”
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The galleries were happy. The golfers were happy. The weather gods were finally happy.
The result?
The Conquistadores are estimating that 50,000 people came to Tucson National last week to watch the tournament, eventually won by Marco Dawson.
“The fans really came out, and now it’s going to be one of the best- attended Champions Tour events out there,” Conquistadores executive director Judy McDermott said Monday.
“Some of the people on the Champions Tour told us our Friday crowd was like their best Sunday crowds.”
The Conquistadores Classic will return next year, though a date has yet to be set. McDermott said a title sponsorship would help secure a long-term commitment beyond 2016.
After such a successful return to Tucson National, McDermott and the Conquistadores should have an easier time finding that sponsor before next year’s tournament.
It will also help that the Conquistadores will have such a strong backing from the professionals. Not only did they enjoy the setup at Tucson National, they appreciated the way the Conquistadores run a tournament.
“All credit to everyone for putting this together on short notice,” said World Golf Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie, who finished tied for ninth. “I thought it was fantastic. The Conquistadores did a tremendous job.”
Two-time major champion Mark O’Meara, who finished with a 66 on Sunday for a third-place finish, said Tucson is one of his favorite places to play. He credited the fans and the community.
“It’s just classy here,” O’Meara said. “I’ve played all over the world, but it’s neat to see the hospitality everybody in Tucson has put forward to the players and to the sponsors. There are a lot of people who love the game coming out to support us.
“We’re so glad to be back, and hopefully this is going to be something even bigger and better in the future.”
Even though an exact date for 2016 isn’t set, the tournament is likely to remain around the same time of year.
There may have been some concern going into the Conquistadores Classic about it happening at the same time as the NCAA tournament.
But Arizona fans wore their cardinal and navy to the golf course all week and packed the Conquistador Club for Saturday’s game against Ohio State.
The Conquistadores were hopeful Tucson National would be a perfect place for UA fans to watch the Wildcats, and they were right.
The golfers even embraced the basketball.
Dawson said “go Wildcats” into the microphone in his post-round interview Sunday, and Hall of Famer Tom Watson asked a member of the gallery what the previous day’s Arizona score was before a tee shot.
“Hopefully the Wildcats keep winning, and the good times in Tucson sports continue,” McDermott said.
