The Senior Players Championship, stylised by the PGA Tour as The SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, is one of the five major championships on golf's PGA Tour Champions. The inaugural event was played 41 years ago in 1983 and the age minimum is 50,[1][2][3] the standard for men's senior professional golf tournaments.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Akron, Ohio |
| Established | 1983 |
| Course(s) | Firestone Country Club (South Course) |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 7,248 yards (6,628 m) |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | US$3,500,000 |
| Month played | July |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 261 Jack Nicklaus (1990) 261 Kenny Perry (2013) |
| Score | −27 Jack Nicklaus (1990) |
| Current champion | |
 Ernie Els | |
| Location map | |
  Firestone CC Location in the United States  Firestone CC Location in Ohio | |
The winner gains entry into the following season's Players Championship on the PGA Tour (although Retief Goosen, the 2019 winner, was not allowed to play in the official subsequent Players Championship). For sponsorship reasons in 2023, the tournament was titled as the Kaulig Companies Championship.[4]
Unlike the U.S. Senior Open, the Senior PGA Championship, and the Senior Open Championship, it is not recognized as a major by the European Senior Tour, and is not part of that tour's schedule.
Since 2019, the Senior Players championship has been held at the South course of the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio; it replaced the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational that had been held there before moving to Memphis, Tennessee.[5]
Course layout
edit| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 399 | 526 | 420 | 450 | 200 | 460 | 219 | 470 | 461 | 3,605 | 410 | 418 | 180 | 450 | 460 | 221 | 640 | 400 | 464 | 3,643 | 7,248 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Early years
editThe first four editions were at Canterbury Golf Club near Cleveland; the inaugural in 1983 had fifty players, no cut, and a purse of $250,000;[2] Miller Barber won the title and $40,000, sinking a ten-foot (3 m) birdie putt on the final hole to finish one stroke ahead of runner-up Gene Littler. Arnold Palmer was seven strokes back, in a tie for fifth.[3]
Palmer won the next year by three strokes,[6] and successfully defended the title in 1985, winning by eleven strokes.[7] Heavy rains on Thursday afternoon reduced the tournament to 54 holes in 1986,[8] and Chi-Chi Rodríguez gained the first of his 22 wins on the senior tour, two strokes ahead of Bruce Crampton.[9]
Winners
edit
Multiple winners
editThrough 2023, six players had multiple wins in the Senior Players Championship:
- 3 wins: Bernhard Langer (2014, 2015, 2016)
- 2 wins: Arnold Palmer (1984, 1985), Dave Stockton (1992, 1994), Raymond Floyd (1996, 2000), Jerry Kelly (2020, 2022), Steve Stricker (2021, 2023)
Winners of both The Players and the Senior Players
editThree have won both The Players Championship and the Senior Players Championship:
| Player | The Players Championship | Senior Players Championship |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Nicklaus | 1974, 1976, 1978 | 1990 |
| Raymond Floyd | 1981 | 1996, 2000 |
| Fred Couples | 1984, 1996 | 2011 |
Notes
edit- ^ Shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
References
edit- ^ "Snead takes aim". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). AP photo. June 10, 1983. p. 18.
- ^ a b "Miller Barber, Littler lead". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 11, 1983. p. 14.
- ^ a b "Barber wins seniors title". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 13, 1983. p. 17.
- ^ Ridenour, Maria (June 15, 2022). "Kaulig Companies to become title sponsor for Senior Players Championship, which will stay at Firestone Country Club". Golfweek.
- ^ Wright, Branson (April 12, 2018). "WGC-Bridgestone Invitational will leave Firestone in 2019 (photos)". cleveland.com.
- ^ "Rested Palmer decides it helps to be inspired". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 25, 1984. p. 2B.
- ^ "Refreshed Palmer sets senior mark". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 24, 1985. p. 2B.
- ^ "Rain stops seniors". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 20, 1986. p. 19.
- ^ "Rodriguez wins Senior TPC crown". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 24, 1985. p. 3B.