Couples, Roberts, Lehman, Weiskopf highlight strong field at Straight Down Fall Classic

The 18th-annual Straight Down Fall Classic is set to tee off Saturday morning at San Luis Obispo Country Club, headlined by the return of former Masters champion Fred Couples, as well as many other notable and local names, and concludes Sunday.

Golf fans of all ages can come to the Classic for free and get up close to the action, as there are no ropes on the fairway for restricting spectator viewpoints.

Tee times start at 7:45 a.m., with the South San Francisco duo of Matt Viguerie and Drew Olson starting off on the first tee. Spectators will see the likes of Couples and others famous golfers such as former British Open champions Tom Lehman and Tom Weiskopf, former U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson, and multi-major winning local Loren Roberts.

Other locals joining Roberts in the best-ball competition this weekend include Atascadero High graduate Roger Tambellini, Paso Robles High and former Cal Poly standout Travis Bertoni and former San Luis Obispo County resident Arron Oberholser. Country club golf professional Rick Ventura and Cal Poly golf head coach Scott Cartwright also add to the list of locals returning from last year’s tournament.

Last year’s Classic ended with former Pepperdine teammates Jason Gore and Kevin Marsh winning following a great first-day performance, and with another star-studded lineup of golfers it looks to be another competitive tournament.

Visit Straightdown.com and click on the “Blog” tab to see a full list of participants and their tee times.

This story was originally published November 13, 2014 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Couples, Roberts, Lehman, Weiskopf highlight strong field at Straight Down Fall Classic."