Wednesday, April 1, 1998 | 7:35 a.m.
PETER BENTONis a local golfer. His column appears Wednesdays.
THE LAS VEGAS Senior Classic by TruGreen-ChemLawn, set April 23-26 for the TPC at Summerlin and the TPC at The Canyons, has announced ticket prices.
Advance daily tickets can be purchased for $15, while season badges for the four-day tournament are available for $50.
Spectators can save $5 by purchasing daily tickets in advance, as they will be $20 each at the gate.
Other available advance options:
-- The Champion's Club, $3,500/$6,000, which provides the perfect corporate hospitality environment. This facility will be open Thursday-Sunday during tournament play, with tables for a party of 10 starting at $3,500.
-- Classic Package, $300: This package includes 25 exchangeable coupons which can be used any day of the tournament. (Neither the Champion's Club nor the Classic Package are available at the gate.)
-- VIP Package, $175: This package includes four season badges and one sponsor parking pass ($200 at the gate).
Seniors, and military personnel receive 2-for-1 access with one paid admission at the gate.
Juniors (under the age of 17), receive free admission with paid adult admission, also only available at the gate.
More information and advance tickets are available by calling 242-3000.
The Las Vegas Founders Club donated $544,000 in 1997 to four local charities, bringing its all-time donations for our LV Senior Classic to almost $4 million.
Recipients last year were the Las Vegas Golf Foundation, the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association, YMCA of Southern Nevada and the Clark County School District.
* SENIOR QUALIFYING: Qualifying for this year's Classic will take place on Monday, April 20 at the TPC at The Canyons. The public is invited to attend and there will be no charge for watching what is expected to be a nail-biting event with over 100 professionals competing for the four available spots.
* CHARLES (ALMOST) IN CHARGE: New Zealand's Bob Charles has never won our Classic, but boy, has he been close. In fact, he has been out of the top five just three times in his 11 appearances here. Charles has two playoff losses among his three second-place finishes and three third-place finishes. Even though this event has been held at three different venues, Charles' scoring average for 33 official rounds is 69.72.
* FEARLESS FORECAST: If you are trying to pick the winner of this year's Senior event, it may behoove you to choose a player who already has tasted victory this year. In six of the last seven years, the LV Seniors Classic champion had at least one win under his belt prior to arriving in Vegas.
* PRETTY PURSE: No tournament on the Senior Tour has made as big a jump with its purse as has the LV Classic. When it started in 1986, the total purse was $250,000 and that year's winner, Bruce Crampton, received $37,500. After offering $1 million from 1995-97, the event has increased its purse by 40 percent to $1.4 million with the winner receiving $210,000.
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