Inaugural Mickelson National Invitational golf tournament tees off this week

Mickelson National Invitational ready to go A big golf tournament gets underway on Wednesday, at the Mickelson National Golf Club, and will bring together top amateurs and pros alike.

The Mickelson National Invitational golf tournament is a three-day event with Round 1 set for Wednesday and the final round to be played on Friday.

The tournament will feature big names, including former PGA tour pro Brad Fritsch and Corey Conners caddy Danny Sahl.

NHLers Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele will also tee it up in the event.

Edmonton's Will Holan just won the Glencoe Invitational.

The 22-year-old is going to Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., and says he's looking forward to this event.

"It's nice to have a marquee event at a great golf course and a great facility here," he said.

"It being its first year, I could just see this growing over the next five or six years, and the opportunity to play against the best pros and amateurs throughout Alberta is kind of an opportunity and all that you can ask for. It's going to be a great week."

The players will battle it out for a $50,000 purse, with $25,000 going to the winner.

Brandon Markiw is on the tournament committee and will also play as a mid-amateur in the event.

He says the Mickelson National Invitational isn't just about the money.

There's a lot more to this event for the golfers.

"We wanted to mix the field up a little bit and introduce the pro component to it, have a junior component, a mid-am component and amateurs to it," he said.

"So the whole concept of that, bringing the community together through these intergenerational eras and lots of wisdom to be gleaned from some of the older guys onto some of the younger guys, a good opportunity to connect all around and a passion for tournament golf."

Micah Morris, a professional YouTube golfer from McKinney, Texas, will also play this week, "on a journey to see if a YouTuber can become an elite-level player."

Organizers want to make this a fun event.

There will be skills competitions, fireside chats, a night at Launchpad and a wrap-up party at Cowboys.

Sam Hart, tournament director, says the hope is to make this event even bigger and better in the future.

"We really want to ramp this up and get to the next level," Hart said.