Champions Tour
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The Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA TOUR, hosts 30 events annually in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico for male golfers 50 and older.
The tour grew out of a highly successful event in 1978, the Legends of Golf, which featured competition between two-member teams of some of the greatest older golfers of that day. It was known as the Senior PGA TOUR until 2002. Upon eligibility, some of the greatest names in golf history have participated in the tour.
All of the events in the 2006 schedule are in the United States except for the Senior British Open and a new event in Mexico. In 2006 the guaranteed minimum official prize money is $52.65 million. [1] This is a little over twenty per cent of the prize money on the PGA Tour, and slightly more than that on the women's LPGA Tour.
Most of the tournaments are played over three rounds or 54 holes, which is one round less than regular professional strokeplay tournaments, for example on the PGA Tour. Because of this, there are generally no "cuts" between any of the rounds. However, the five senior majors do have four rounds. A golfer's performances can be quite variable from one round to the next, and playing an extra round increases the likelihood that the senior majors will be won by leading players. In 2006 the Champions Tour Division Board of the PGA Tour organisation voted to allow players the option to use golf carts during most events on the tour. The five major championships and certain other events, including pro-ams, are excluded. [2]
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Schedule
The following table shows all the official money events for the 2006 season. The five senior majors are shown in bold. The numbers in brackets after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event.
Leading money winners by year
- 2005 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Dana Quigley - $2,170,258
- 2004 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Craig Stadler - $2,306,066
- 2003 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Tom Watson - $1,853,108
- 2002 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Hale Irwin - $3,028,304
- 2001 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Allen Doyle- $2,553,582
- 2000 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Larry Nelson - $2,708,005
- 1999 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Fleisher - $2,515,705
- 1998 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Hale Irwin - $2,861,945
- 1997 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Hale Irwin - $2,343,364
- 1996 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Jim Colbert - $1,627,890
- 1995 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Jim Colbert - $1,444,386
- 1994 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Dave Stockton - $1,402,519
- 1993 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Dave Stockton - $1,175,944
- 1992 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Lee Trevino - $1,027,002
- 1991 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Mike Hill - $1,065,657
- 1990 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Lee Trevino - $1,190,518
- 1989 - Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles - $725,887
- 1988 - Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles - $533,929
- 1987 - Image:Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Chi Chi Rodriguez - $509,145
- 1986 - Image:Flag of Australia.svg Bruce Crampton - $454,299
- 1985 - Image:Flag of Australia.svg Peter Thomson - $386,724
- 1984 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Don January - $328,597
- 1983 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Don January - $237,571
- 1982 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Miller Barber - $106,890
- 1981 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Miller Barber - $83,136
- 1980 - Image:Flag of the United States.svg Don January - $44,100
Leading career money winners
The table shows the top ten career money leaders on the Champions Tour at the end of the 2005 season.
| Position | Player | Country | Prize Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hale Irwin | United States | 22,576,561 |
| 2. | Gil Morgan | United States | 15,683,422 |
| 3. | Bruce Fleisher | United States | 12,825,909 |
| 4. | Larry Nelson | United States | 12,373,805 |
| 5. | Dana Quigley | United States | 12,333,491 |
| 6. | Jim Colbert | United States | 11,510,220 |
| 7. | Allen Doyle | United States | 11,045,387 |
| 8. | Dave Stockton | United States | 10,716,445 |
| 9. | Jim Thorpe | United States | 10,133,040 |
| 10. | Lee Trevino | United States | 9,778,951 |
There is a full list on the PGA Tour's website here. The PGA Tour also publishes a list of Champions Tour players' total career earnings on its three tours here.
See also
- Golfers with most Champions Tour wins
- Golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins
- Professional golf tours