Galleri multi-cancer testing available on site at PGA Tour Champions event
The Galleri Classic is sponsored by Grail, which uses the tournament to promote its Galleri multi-cancer test. The test identifies markers in a person that could indicate cancer, and covers dozens of kinds of cancer. Grail has a mobile unit at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course this week at Mission Hills Country Club that allows players and fans with tickets to access the test, which takes about 15 minutes.
Those who are eligible can take the test for $849, a $100 discount from the usual price. Grail is continuing to work with the Food and Drug Administration to approve the test for insurance purposes and is doing clinical trials with Medicare beneficiaries.
Easter service planned Sunday
An Easter service will be held at 6:30 a.m. Sunday hosted by the Galleri Classic. The service will be held on the 18th green of the Dinah Shore Tournament Course, the course being played by the senior pros this week.
The service is a ticket event, with kids under 15 getting in free. Military members get in free with two ticketed guests. Gates open at 6 a.m., with parking in the general parking lot at Ramon Road and Crossley Road.
The Easter day will continue at noon with an Easter egg hunt on the driving range at Mission Hills Country Club.
Qualifiers
Three golfers, including long-time PGA Tour member Greg Chalmers of Australia, earned the last three spots in the Galleri Classic’s 78-player field through a qualifying tournament at Bermuda Dunes Country Club on Tuesday.
Chalmers played just two events on the senior tour last year after turning 50 in October. He has 485 PGA Tour starts including a win in the Barracuda Championship in 2016.
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Chalmers shot 4-under 68 in the qualifier, the same score as Patrick Sjoland of Sweden and Brian Smock of Coronado, a club pro whose only PGA Tour Champions start came in last year’s Senior PGA Championship. Sjoland’s only PGA Tour Champions start came in the Senior Open Championship last year.
Who’s in, who’s out
Tim Petrovic is the first player to withdraw from the tournament before play begins, with no reason given. He is replaced in the first by first alternate Tim O’Neal. Scott Dunlap is now the first alternate.
A wall of their own
For years the winners of the LPGA event at the Shore Course had a plaque with their name put on a wall running along the walk up to the bridge to the 18th green, a wall known as the Wall of Champions. The wall was also next to Poppie’s Pond, the lake where champions jumped in after their win.
The PGA Tour Champions decided it wanted its own traditions, and that means the winner, David Toms, didn’t jump into the lake. Now Mission Hills is creating a new Wall of Champions for the senior event. The wall is part of the bridge crossing the lake to the 18th green and has a sign signifying the Galleri Classic and a smaller plaque with 2023 winner David Toms’ name. The plaque naming the lake Poppie’s Pond has been moved slightly to another side of the bridge standard.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Grail's multi-cancer test available at Galleri Classic this week
