Harman Patil (Editor)

Senior PGA Championship

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Established
  
1937, 80 years ago

Month played
  
May

Par
  
72 (2017)

Format
  
Stroke play – 72 holes

Prize fund
  
2.8 million USD

Senior PGA Championship michiganpgagolfcomwpcontentuploads201510201

Location
  
Potomac Falls, Virginia in 2017

Course(s)
  
Trump National Golf Club (2017)

Tours
  
PGA Tour Champions, European Senior Tour

The Senior PGA Championship is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA Tour Champions and the European Seniors Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money event on the European Seniors Tour, but since 2007 has been an official money event. Winners gain entry into the same season's PGA Championship. The winners prior to 1980, the first season of the senior tour, are not considered major champions of this event by the PGA Tour Champions.

Contents

Like its PGA Tour counterpart, the Senior PGA Championship allows club professionals to enter. The tournament committee invites former winners of the PGA Professional National Championship and the top 35 club professionals who qualify through a tournament.

It was founded 80 years ago in 1937, and the inaugural event was played at Augusta National Golf Club, with 54-year-old Jock Hutchison winning the 54-hole event on Thursday, December 2. The second edition at Augusta was reduced to 36 holes due to rain, but had an 18-hole playoff on December 9 to decide the winner, Fred McLeod. The next edition was moved to Florida in January, and it was 36-hole event until 1954; after four years at 54 holes, it became a 72-hole event in 1958. The championship was played only in Florida from 1940 through 2000. It moved from winter to mid-April in 1990 and when it rotated to various sites in 2001, it became a late spring event, played in late May or early June.

The lower age limit is 50, which is the standard limit for men's senior professional golf tournaments. In the past, the event has had long spells of playing on a single host course, but currently it is played on a different course each year. No tournaments were held in 1943 and 1944 due to World War II. Due to scheduling moves, two tournaments were played in 1979 and 1984 and none in 1939, 1983, and 1985. The tournament has gone by several different names:

Eligibility

Here is who may be eligible to compete in the Senior PGA Championship (provided they meet the age requirement):

  • Any past winner of the Senior PGA Championship
  • Any past winner of a regular major championship
  • Any past member of the United States Ryder Cup team
  • The top 15 finishers in the previous year's Senior PGA Championship
  • The top 50 on the Champions Tour money list (previous year and current year)
  • Any winner of a Champions Tour event since the last Senior PGA Championship
  • The top 35 finishers from the Callaway Golf Senior PGA Professional National Championship
  • Any winner of the previous five U.S. Senior Opens
  • The winner of the last Senior British Open
  • The top eight players from the previous year's European Seniors Tour Order of Merit
  • The top four players from the previous year's Japanese Seniors Tour Order of Merit
  • A one-time exemption for those who have just turned 50 and have won a PGA Tour, Japan Golf Tour, or European Tour event in the last 5 years
  • The top 30 on the career money list, both Champions Tour and combined Champions Tour and PGA Tour
  • A one-time exemption for former PGA Professional National Champions turning 50
  • Invitations for those not meeting criteria above also are made

    • Winners

    Source:

    Multiple winners

    The following men have won the Senior PGA Championship more than once, through 2016:

  • 6 wins: Sam Snead (1964, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1973)
  • 4 wins: Hale Irwin (1996, 1997, 1998, 2004)
  • 3 wins: Eddie Williams (1942, 1945, 1946), Al Watrous (1950, 1951, 1957), Gary Player (1986, 1988, 1990)
  • 2 wins: Jock Hutchison (1937, 1947), Gene Sarazen (1954, 1958), Paul Runyan (1961, 1962), Julius Boros (1971, 1977),
                Don January (1979, 1982), Arnold Palmer (1980, 1984), Lee Trevino (1992, 1994), Jay Haas (2006, 2008),
                Tom Watson (2010, 2011), Colin Montgomerie (2014, 2015)

    • Winners of both PGA Championship and Senior PGA Championship

    The following men have won both the PGA Championship and the Senior PGA Championship, the majors run by the PGA of America:

    Future tournament sites

  • 2017 – Trump National Golf Club, Potomac Falls, Virginia
  • 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 – The Golf Club at Harbor Shores, Benton Harbor, Michigan

    • References

    Senior PGA Championship Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA