Champions Tour
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PGATOURChampionsTourLogo.png
Champions Tour logo
SeniorPGATOURLogo.png
Senior PGA TOUR logo
The Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA TOUR, hosts 30 events annually in the United States and Canada for golfers 50 and older.
Known as the Senior PGA TOUR until 2002, it offers approximately $50 million in annual prize money. Upon eligilibilty, some of the greatest names in golf history have participated in the tour.
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.
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.
Tour leading money winners:
- 1980 - Don January - $44,100
- 1981 - Miller Barber - $83,136
- 1982 - Miller Barber - $106,890
- 1983 - Don January - $237,571
- 1984 - Don January - $328,597
- 1985 - Peter Thomson - $386,724
- 1986 - Bruce Crampton - $454,299
- 1987 - Chi Chi Rodriguez - $509,145
- 1988 - Bob Charles - $533,929
- 1989 - Bob Charles - $725,887
- 1990 - Lee Trevino - $1,190,518
- 1991 - Mike Hill - $1,065,657
- 1992 - Lee Trevino - $1,027,002
- 1993 - Dave Stockton - $1,175,944
- 1994 - Dave Stockton - $1,402,519
- 1995 - Jim Colbert - $1,444,386
- 1996 - Jim Colbert - $1,627,890
- 1997 - Hale Irwin - $2,343,364
- 1998 - Hale Irwin - $2,861,945
- 1999 - Bruce Fleisher - $2,515,705
- 2000 - Larry Nelson - $2,708,005
- 2001 - Allen Doyle- $2,553,582
- 2002 - Hale Irwin - $3,028,304
- 2003 - Tom Watson - $1,853,108
- 2004 - Craig Stadler - $2,306,066