legends tour senior open 2023

Legends Tour announces 2023 tournament schedule

4.33pm 12th January 2023 - Sponsorship & Events

The Legends Tour ‘s 2023 schedule will feature debuts for two stunning links venues, in Scotland and in Ireland, and increased prize funds across the board.

The 2023 season for Europe’s over-50s circuit will feature at least 18 tournaments with a record-breaking prize fund – with final numbers set to be released shortly – which will be a significant increase on the 2022 campaign.

Among the exciting developments for 2023 is the news that the spectacular Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen will host the Tour for the first time when the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship is played from August 24-27.

The Scottish venue is joined on the schedule by another breathtaking links newcomer, with Seapoint Golf Links – a rising star in the ranks of Irish links courses and located on the East coast, just an hour north of Dublin – set to host a major international professional event for the first time when the Irish Legends comes to town from June 23-25.

The JCB Championship will return from August 3-5 after a glorious debut in 2022, when a host of superstars including Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Darren Clarke and Paul Lawrie descended upon the spectacular Uttoxeter venue, with Germany’s Alex Cejka finishing two shots clear of Ireland’s Paul McGinley to lift the title.

Among the other returning highlights on the new-look schedule are July’s Swiss Seniors Open at Golf Club Bad Ragaz, the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany in September, the Italian Senior Open in October and November’s Farmfoods European Senior Masters in Spain.

A new English event, the Legends Players Championship, will be held for the first time in 2023, joining the JCB Championship and the Jersey Legends in a triumvirate of confirmed England-based tournaments.

Major glory may be on the cards for the biggest stars of the Legends Tour, with the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex visiting Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in 2023, while the KitchenAid US PGA Senior Championship will be played at PGA Frisco, Texas and the US Senior Open will take place at Wisconsin’s SentryWorld Golf Course.

The Tour will once again close with the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius, which has provided a fitting finale to the popular competition for more than a decade. At the 2022 edition of the event, staged in December, South African James Kingston lifted the John Jacobs Trophy as the Order of Merit leader despite an impressive display by tournament winner Thomas Bjørn.

Many golfers hoping to make their mark on the Legends Tour in 2023 will have to first prove themselves at the Tour’s Qualifying School this month, which returns for the first time in three years. The venue for the high-stakes event will be Gloria Golf Resort in Belek, Turkey, where players will battle it out to earn one of five spots on the Tour.

Phil Harrison, Legends Tour CEO, said: “Since rebranding as the Legends Tour in 2020, our central ambition has been to keep growing, and this 2023 schedule is another incredibly exciting step forward in the evolution of our Tour.

“We have some stunning new venues to add to the long list of world-class golf courses which we visit on an annual basis. We are thrilled that, for the first time, our players will compete on two spectacular links venues in Trump International and Seapoint, while the addition of the English Masters means another big event for the famously passionate British golf fans.

“We extend our thanks to all of our host venues, sponsors and partners for being part of this journey and we look forward to welcoming them back in 2023 for what is set to be an exhilarating season for our players, our celebrities and our fans.”

The Legends Tour is the brainchild of entrepreneur Ryan Howsam, who bought a majority stake in the then-named European Senior Tour and set about rebranding the Tour in 2020. A prestigious competition featuring some of golf’s finest players aged 50 and over, the reimagined Legends Tour became a fan favourite and promises to be better than ever in 2023.

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Upcoming events, british bobsleigh and skeleton association talent id day, england vs pakistan it20 – sophia gardens, carbon literacy training: 6 & 13 june 2024, the senior open presented by rolex – legends tour: 27/07/2023 – 30/07/2023.

Europe’s only Senior Major Championship will visit the South Wales venue for the third time when the 36th edition of The Senior Open Presented by Rolex takes place from July 27-30, 2023, a year after Gleneagles hosts the event in 2022.The venue, which offers stunning views across Swansea Bay to the Gower Peninsula and offers a true test of golf, has previously hosted numerous prestigious Championships such as The Amateur and the Walker Cup.

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club was founded in 1891 as a nine-hole course before an agreement was made four years later to add another nine holes. In 1909, the club was bestowed the honour of using the prefix Royal – only the second club in Wales to be granted the privilege after Royal St David’s – before hosting its first significant tournament in 1951 when The Amateur Championship took place

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2023 Senior Open: Schedule, top players, prize money purse, and more

T he 2023 Senior Open Championship, corresponding to the European Legends Tour, will be played from July 27–30. It is the fifth and last major of the senior season.

The venue for the Senior Open Championship will be the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Bridgend, Wales. This is a venue that has hosted this tournament on two previous occasions (2014 and 2017).

Also, the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club has hosted other important championships, such as The Amateur Championship (6 editions), the 1995 Walker Cup, and the British Masters in 1961.

The club was founded in 1891. It has a course of 7,137 yards and a par 72. The status of "Royal" was granted in 1907 (The title "Royal" is granted in the United Kingdom to institutions of long and prestigious life with contributions to national, charitable, and scientific objectives).

The stage is set for Europe's only Senior Major

Welcome to Royal Porthcawl Golf Club 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

#SeniorOpen | @Royal_Porthcawl pic.twitter.com/495aUT466e

The Senior Open Championship has a prize purse of 2.75 million dollars. The prize distribution procedure is similar to that governing major world tournaments. The winner will receive $720,000.

Normally, the tournament boasts a field full of prestigious names, and the 2023 edition is no exception. Six previous winners of the tournament will be present, in addition to nine other winners of major tournaments in the open category.

Padraig Harrington (51), who just made the cut at The Open Championship , stands out. In the open category, Harrington has won six PGA Tour tournaments, three of them majors, in addition to 31 tournaments on other circuits.

In the senior category, he has triumphed five times in the PGA Tour Champions and once in the European Senior Tour.

The defending champion, Darren Clarke, will also be present. Other champions who will be playing in the 2023 edition of The Senior Open will be Stephen Dodd (2021), Bernhard Langer (2010, 14, 17, and 19), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2018), Paul Broadhurts (2016), and Russ Cochran (2011).

History of The Senior Open Championship: A quick look

The Senior Open Championship had its inaugural edition in 1987 as part of the European Senior Tour. It is the fifth and final major tournament of each season and is traditionally played in July.

The tournament has been played at several of the most historic golf courses in the United Kingdom. The venue that has hosted the Senior Open the most is Turnberry Golf Club, with seven editions.

Six times it has been played at Royal Portrush Golf Club, five at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, and three at Royal County Down Golf Club and Sunningdale Golf Club. In 2023, Royal Porthcawl Golf Club will join this group.

Twice it has been hosted by Royal Troon Golf Club and Carnoustie Golf Links, while Gleneagles, St Andrews, Muirfield, Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Walton Heath Golf Club, and Royal Aberdeen Golf Club have had one edition.

The tournament's top winner is Germany's Bernhard Langer, with four victories. Among the multi-winners are legends such as Gary Player and Tom Watson (3). Bob Charles, Brian Barnes, Christy O'Connor Jr., and Loren Roberts have each won twice.

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2023 Legends Tour: Bigger Prize Funds with New Venues in Scotland and Ireland

Golf in uae, golf in uae world.

At least 18 tournaments with a record-breaking prize fund

The Legends Tour will continue to build on its star quality with a global 2023 schedule which features exciting debuts for two stunning links venues, in Scotland and in Ireland, and increased prize funds across the board for many of the game’s most decorated players.

The 2023 season will feature at least 18 tournaments with a record-breaking prize fund – with final numbers set to be released shortly - which will be a significant increase on the 2022 campaign.

Among the exciting developments for 2023 is the news that the spectacular Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen will host the Tour for the first time when the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship is played from August 25-27.

The Scottish venue is joined on the schedule by another breath-taking links newcomer, with Seapoint Golf Links - a rising star in the ranks of Irish links courses and located on the East coast, just an hour north of Dublin - set to host a major international professional event for the first time from June 22-24.

The JCB Championship will return from August 4-6 after a glorious debut in 2022, when a host of superstars including Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Darren Clarke and Paul Lawrie descended upon the spectacular Uttoxer venue, with Germany’s Alex Cejka finishing two shots clear of Irish star Paul McGinley to lift the title.

Among the other returning highlights on the new-look schedule are July’s Swiss Seniors Open at Golf Club Bad Ragaz, the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany in September, the Italian Senior Open in October and November’s Farmfoods European Senior Masters in Spain.

A new English event, the Legends Players Championship, will be held for the first time in 2023, joining the JCB Championship and the Jersey Legends in a triumvirate of confirmed England-based tournaments.

Major glory may be on the cards for the biggest stars of the Legends Tour, with the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex visiting Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in 2023, while the KitchenAid US PGA Senior Championship will be played at PGA Frisco, Texas and the US Senior Open will take place at Wisconsin’s SentryWorld Golf Course.

The Tour will once again close with the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius, which has provided a fitting finale to the popular competition for more than a decade. At the 2022 edition of the event, staged earlier in December, South African James Kingston lifted the John Jacobs Trophy as the Order of Merit leader despite an impressive display by tournament winner Thomas Bjørn.

Many golfers hoping to make their mark on the Legends Tour in 2023 will have to first prove themselves at the Tour’s Qualifying School this month, which returns for the first time in three years. The venue for the high-stakes event will be Gloria Golf Resort in Belek, Turkey, where players will battle it out to earn one of five spots on the Tour.

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2023 LEGENDS TOUR: BIGGER PRIZE FUNDS WITH NEW VENUES IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND

• Golfing World

The Legends Tour will continue to build on its star quality with a global 2023 schedule which features exciting debuts for two stunning links venues, in Scotland and in Ireland, and increased prize funds across the board for many of the game’s most decorated players.

The 2023 season will feature at least 18 tournaments with a record-breaking prize fund – with final numbers set to be released shortly – which will be a significant increase on the 2022 campaign.

Among the exciting developments for 2023 is the news that the spectacular Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen will host the Tour for the first time when the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship is played from August 24-27.

The Scottish venue is joined on the schedule by another breath-taking links newcomer, with Seapoint Golf Links – a rising star in the ranks of Irish links courses and located on the East coast, just an hour north of Dublin – set to host a major international professional event for the first time from June 23-25 when the Irish Legends comes to town.

The JCB Championship will return from August 3-5 after a glorious debut in 2022, when a host of superstars including Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Darren Clarke and Paul Lawrie descended upon the spectacular Uttoxeter venue, with Germany’s Alex Cejka finishing two shots clear of Ireland’s Paul McGinley to lift the title.

Among the other returning highlights on the new-look schedule are July’s Swiss Seniors Open at Golf Club Bad Ragaz, the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany in September, the Italian Senior Open in October and November’s Farmfoods European Senior Masters in Spain.

A new English event, the Legends Players Championship, will be held for the first time in 2023, joining the JCB Championship and the Jersey Legends in a triumvirate of confirmed England-based tournaments.

Major glory may be on the cards for the biggest stars of the Legends Tour, with the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex visiting Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in 2023, while the KitchenAid US PGA Senior Championship will be played at PGA Frisco, Texas and the US Senior Open will take place at Wisconsin’s SentryWorld Golf Course.

The Tour will once again close with the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius, which has provided a fitting finale to the popular competition for more than a decade. At the 2022 edition of the event, staged in December, South African James Kingston lifted the John Jacobs Trophy as the Order of Merit leader despite an impressive display by tournament winner Thomas Bjørn.

Many golfers hoping to make their mark on the Legends Tour in 2023 will have to first prove themselves at the Tour’s Qualifying School this month, which returns for the first time in three years. The venue for the high-stakes event will be Gloria Golf Resort in Belek, Turkey, where players will battle it out to earn one of five spots on the Tour.

Phil Harrison, Legends Tour CEO, said: “Since rebranding as the Legends Tour in 2020, our central ambition has been to keep growing, and this 2023 schedule is another incredibly exciting step forward in the evolution of our Tour.

“We have some stunning new venues to add to the long list of world-class golf courses which we visit on an annual basis. We are thrilled that, for the first time, our players will compete on two spectacular links venues in Trump International and Seapoint, while the addition of the English Masters means another big event for the famously passionate British golf fans.

“We extend our thanks to all of our host venues, sponsors and partners for being part of this journey and we look forward to welcoming them back in 2023 for what is set to be an exhilarating season for our players, our celebrities and our fans.”

The Legends Tour is the brainchild of entrepreneur Ryan Howsam, who bought a majority stake in the then-named European Senior Tour and set about rebranding the Tour in 2020. A prestigious competition featuring some of golf’s finest players aged 50 and over, the reimagined Legends Tour became a fan favourite and promises to be better than ever in 2023.

www.legendstour.com

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Tuesday Tournament Preview

Ruixin liu picks up her seventh epson tour victory at the carlisle arizona women's golf classic, tuesday tournament preview - 2023 senior lpga championship.

• Senior LPGA Championship
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THINGS TO KNOW

• A 72-player field will be competing for a $400,000 purse in a 54-hole, stroke-play format with no cut
• This is the sixth Senior LPGA Championship 
• This is the first Senior LPGA Championship hosted by Sultan’s Run Golf Club
• Karrie Webb is looking to become the first player to successfully defend the Senior LPGA Championship
• Trish Johnson is trying to become a three-time champion of the Senior LPGA Championship

The 2023 Senior LPGA Championship added two more players to the field on Monday afternoon. Sultan’s Run Golf Club is hosting their first LPGA Senior Championship this week and held a Monday Qualifier at the club on June 26. Laura Shanahan Rowe and Yvonne Cox-Holmes were the top-two finishers out of the field of 16 competing on Monday, earning their spots in this week’s field. 

Shanahan Rowe has experience in the Senior LPGA Championship, competing in the event in every year it has been played. A T23 finish in 2017 is the Legends of the LPGA veteran’s best result, but she will face a new challenge as she takes on Sultan’s Run for the first time this week.

“The course is beautiful, with a handful of very challenging holes,” said Shanahan Rowe. “You have to hit the right shot to the right areas out here. The elevation changes paired with the wind is what makes this course challenging but coming from New Hampshire it was something I was familiar with and have experience with.”

The New Hampshire native has seven top-10 finishes on the Legends of the LPGA, with a top-20 finish at the 2019 U.S. Senior Women’s Open. In 2019, Shanahan Rowe was inducted into the New Hampshire Golf Hall of Fame and will continue to add to her impressive resume this week. 

“I have always had good luck in Indiana, so I am happy to be back,” said Shanahan Rowe. “The first event I qualified for was in Indiana, so I love it here. This course is beautiful, and I am just excited to be here. I made sure I got here and saw the course a couple times before I teed it up because I heard it can be a challenge.”

New to the Senior LPGA Championship is Yvonne Cox-Holmes who finished one shot behind Shanahan Rowe to secure the second qualifying spot for this week’s event. Cox-Holmes was an Epson Tour member from 2001-2005 and competed in the U.S. Women’s Open in 2004. It has been nearly 18 years since Cox-Holmes has competed in a competitive setting of this magnitude, but she is excited for the opportunity and has a strong mindset heading into the week.

“This course and this week are going to be a challenge, but a really fun challenge,” said Cox-Holmes. “This is my first year competing as a senior and I got back into competing after about 18 years, so I am just trying to settle in and enjoy the moment. I have a different mindset at this time because I am not playing for a career anymore, I am playing to just have fun and the pressure is off.”

Laura Shanahan Rowe and Yvonne Cox-Holmes will both tee off in the first round of the Senior LPGA Championship on Thursday, June 29. Tickets are available for purchase at  www.sultansrun.com/2023-senior-lpga-championship . One-day tickets are $15 with a 3-day ticket package available for $40.

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Tune in to watch as the LPGA Tour returns to the New Jersey Turnpike this week for the Cognizant Founders Cup, hosted by Upper Montclair Country Club. The 144-player field competes for a $3 million purse and is highlighted by eight of the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings top 10, including World No. 1 Nelly Korda.

US PGA Championship 2024: Who is in the field and how did they qualify?

Anticipation is building ahead of the 2024 US PGA Championship , the second men's Major Championship of the year.

As of May 7, 16 past champions of the Wanamaker Trophy and 33 Major Champions are expected to tee it up at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky from May 16-19.

Brooks Koepka is the defending champion, having won his third PGA Championship title at Oak Hill Country Club last year.

Below, we outline the qualifying criteria for this year's PGA Championship and who is currently set to feature in the field. The PGA of America is holding two spots for winners of this week's PGA TOUR events.

2024 US PGA Championship qualifying criteria

• All former winners of the PGA Championship
• Winners of the last five Masters (2020 – 2024)
• Winners of the last five U.S. Opens (2019 – 2023)
• Winners of the last five Open Championships (2018 – 2023). Cancelled in 2020
• Winners of the last three THE PLAYERS Championships (2022 – 2024)
• The top 3 on the International Federation Official World Golf Ranking List as of April 29, 2024.
• Winner of the 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship
• The top 15 finishers and ties from the 2023 PGA Championship
• The top 20 finishers from the 2024 PGA Professional Championship
• The top 70 players who are eligible and have earned the most PGA Championship Points from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson (ending May 5, 2024)
• Playing members of the last-named U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams (2023) provided they remain within the top 100 on the Official World Golf Rankings as of May 6, 2024
• Winners of PGA TOUR co-sponsored or approved tournaments, whose victories are considered official, from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship and the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic
• The top 3 finishers on the DP World Tour Asian Swing event rankings, that include the Porsche Singapore Open, the Hero Indian Open, the ISPS HANDA - CHAMPIONSHIP and the Volvo China Open
• The PGA of America reserves the right to invite additional players not included in the categories listed above
• If necessary to complete the field, those players beyond the top 70 players who are eligible and who have earned the most PGA Championship Points from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson (ending May 5, 2024), in order of their position on such list

Field for the 2024 US PGA Championship (as of May 7 2024)

Listed by alphabetical order with the numbers of their exemption categories.

• Åberg, Ludvig (10, 11, 12)
• An, Byeong Hun (10)
• Beem, Rich (1)
• Bevell, Josh (9)
• Bezuidenhout, Christiaan (10)
• Bhatia, Akshay (10, 12)
• Björk, Alexander (14)
• Blair, Zac (10)
• Block, Michael (8)
• Bowser, Evan (9)
• Bradley, Keegan (1, 10, 12,)
• Burmester, Dean (14)
• Burns, Sam (10, 11)
• Cantlay, Patrick (8, 10, 11)
• Clark, Wyndham (3, 10, 11, 12)
• Cole, Eric (8, 10)
• Cole, Preston (9)
• Collet, Tyler (9)
• Conners, Corey (8, 10)
• Daly, John (1)
• Davis, Cameron (8, 10)
• Day, Jason (1,10)
• DeChambeau, Bryson (3, 8)
• Detry, Thomas (10)
• Dobyns, Matt (9)
• Donald, Luke (14)
• Dufner, Jason (1)
• Dunlap, Nick (12)
• Eckroat, Austin (10, 12)
• English, Harris (10)
• Finau, Tony (10)
• Fitzpatrick, Matthew (3, 10, 11)
• Fleetwood, Tommy (10, 11)
• Fowler, Rickie (10, 11, 12)
• Fox, Ryan (14)
• Garnett, Brice (12)
• Ghim, Doug (15)
• Glover, Lucas (10, 12)
• Gooch, Talor (14)
• Griffin, Ben (14)
• Grillo, Emiliano (10, 12)
• Gross, Larkin (9)
• Hadwin, Adam (10)
• Harman, Brian (4, 10, 11)
• Harrington, Pádraig (1)
• Hatton, Tyrrell (8, 10, 11)
• Henley, Russell (10)
• Herbert, Lucas (14)
• Hisatsune, Ryo (14)
• Hodges, Lee (10, 12)
• Hoffman, Charley (14)
• Hoge, Tom (10)
• Højgaard, Nicolai (11)
• Højgaard, Rasmus (14)
• Homa, Max (10, 11)
• Horschel, Billy (12)
• Hoshino, Rikuya
• Hossler, Beau (10)
• Hovland, Viktor (8, 10, 11, 12)
• Hubbard, Mark (10)
• Hughes, Mackenzie (10)
• Im, Sungjae (10)
• Jaeger, Stephan (10, 12)
• Johnson, Dustin (2)
• Jones, Jared (9)
• Kanaya, Takumi (14)
• Kaymer, Martin (1)
• Kellen, Jeff (9)
• Kim, Si Woo (10)
• Kim, Tom (10, 12)
• Kirk, Chris (10, 12)
• Kitayama, Kurt (8)
• Knapp, Jake (10, 12)
• Kobori, Kazuma (14)
• Koepka, Brooks (1, 8, 10, 11)
• Kohles, Ben (14)
• Lawrence, Thriston (14)
• Lee, Kyoung-Hoon (14)
• Lee, Min Woo (10)
• List, Luke (10, 12)
• Lowry, Shane (4, 8, 10, 11, 12)
• MacIntyre, Robert (11)
• Malnati, Peter (10, 12)
• Marek, Brad (9)
• Matsuyama, Hideki (2, 10, 12)
• McCarthy, Denny (10)
• McIlroy, Rory(1, 8, 10, 11, 12)
• McNealy, Maverick (14)
• Mendoza, Kyle (9)
• Meronk, Adrian (9)
• Micheel, Shaun (1)
• Mickelson, Phil (1)
• Mitchell, Keith (14)
• Molinari, Francesco (4)
• Montgomery, Taylor (14)
• Moore, Taylor (10)
• Morikawa, Collin(1, 4, 10, 11, 12)
• Mueller, Jesse (9)
• Murray, Grayson (10, 12)
• Nakajima, Keita (6, 13)
• Niemann, Joaquin (14)
• Noren, Alex (10)
• Norrman, Vincent (12)
• Oakley, Zac (9)
• Ogletree, Andy (6)
• Olesen, Thorbjørn (14)
• Otaegui, Adrian (13)
• Pavon, Matthieu (10, 12)
• Pendrith, Taylor (10, 12)
• Perez, Victor (8)
• Phillips, Tracy (9)
• Polland, Ben (9)
• Poston, J.T. (10)
• Puig, David (14)
• Putnam, Andrew (10)
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Gros goes low to move clear in Seville

Sébastien Gros fired a brilliant eight under par round of 64 to move two strokes clear heading into the weekend of the Challenge de España at Real Club Sevilla Golf.

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Doug Barron's major mantel is barren no more after win at Regions Tradition

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Sunday at the Regions Tradition, everywhere that Doug Barron looked he was surrounded by firepower. For starters, playing in the final group on Sunday for the first time in a PGA TOUR Champions event – a major championship, no less – he was alongside Hall of Famers Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington. Legends. As they will tell you in Alabama, that’s tall cotton.

Steve Stricker, who won three senior majors a year ago and was runner-up in a fourth on his way to 2023 Player of the Year honors, and a three-time champion at Regions, was in the group up ahead of Barron, very capable of going low. Steven Alker, leader in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup, was, in fact, going low, shooting the best round of the week (9-under 63).

And even Bernhard Langer, the all-time leader in victories (46) among the over-50 set, was making some noise for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon. He would tie for eighth.

If you think any of this phased Doug Barron, it did not. Never a winner on the PGA TOUR (238 career starts) and last a winner among the seniors in 2021 (Rogers Charity Classic in Canada), the 54-year-old Barron never once blinked, never broke stride, smiling and chatting away as he played, showing he was more than comfortable among the company that he was keeping.

Doug Barron throws a dart to set up birdie at Tradition

His final-round 4-under 68 was relatively stress-free, with few mistakes in it, and as a result, this morning, at last, he can call himself a major champion. His winning total was 17-under 271, two shots clear of Alker.

Barron played bogey-free golf over his final 33 holes at Greystone Golf and Country Club’s Founders Course, and even his final-round score did not do full justice to capture just how solidly he played among giants. His putting was steady, and he holed out well from 3 and 4 feet, not making a single bogey one day after his stellar third-round 66 was three shots clear of the day’s next-lowest score. Nobody handed this one to Barron.

“Got my putter going,” Barron said. “I felt like I can make an 8-footer again, and it was huge. Today was just a dream come true. To beat all these great players ... they’re world-class players, but they are even better people.”

Alker, 52, has been a winner in eight of his first 60 starts on PGA TOUR Champions, and Sunday in Hoover, the New Zealander was the one who would step forward and at least post a number that got Barron’s attention. Alker eagled the par-5 second hole and would add eight birdies to his card, offset by a lone bogey at the par-5 15th. Alker’s 63 tied the best round since the tourney moved to Greystone, and jumped him all the way into second for the week.

Stricker, 57, was attempting to become the ninth player in history to win the same PGA TOUR Champions major for a third consecutive time. He has an incredible record at Regions, where he won in 2019, 2022 and 2023 – each time winning by six shots. But Stricker never got much going with the putter on the weekend to make a quality run. He did not make a single birdie on Saturday, though on Sunday he bounced back with a few, shooting 69.

Els, a winner of four majors (two U.S. Opens, two Open Championships) in his PGA Tour days, appeared poised to collect his first senior major on Sunday. He started the day sharing the lead with Barron, had been swinging the club beautifully, and through hard work, has his putting in good order. But after a nice start (birdie at the second), he followed with poor bogeys at No. 3 and No. 4, the latter a short par-3 that was a good scoring opportunity.

Els did make birdies at the eighth and ninth to get back to within two, and with three par-5 awaiting the long hitter on the back nine, he had a chance. But he could not get much else going. A bogey at 10 halted his momentum, and he shot 71 and tied for third with Stricker and Stewart Cink. The finish was Els’ ninth top-five without a victory in a senior major.

Cink is a newcomer to the big senior stops, and has yet to win on PGA TOUR Champions, but Sunday he broke out to a sizzling start, shooting 5-under 31 on his opening nine. He finished with a final-round 66, but it included only one birdie in his last 10 holes as he could not close the gap on Barron.

For Barron, Sunday was an emotional day, for several reasons. He had friends and family there, including his sister, it was Mother’s Day, and he said he hung in there over his last 18 holes without his best stuff. When he needed to, though, he hit the shots. He had three putts to win on the final green, but lagged his first putt to a foot to seal his major.

Doug Barron taps in for par to win Regions Tradition

“I hit a lot of good shots coming down the stretch, I thought,” Barron said. “I thought my putter ... if I just hit it to 30 or 40 feet, I could win it. I did look at the scoreboard at 16. I was excited about my play, and I’m just excited to keep it going.

“When I came out here (on PGA TOUR Champions), I dreamed of winning majors. I was never a factor in a major on the PGA TOUR, so it really is a dream come true.”

Barron moved from 20th to fifth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, with Alker maintaining his lead in the season-long points race.

The Regions Tradition, played for the eighth consecutive year at Greystone, marked the first major championship of the season on PGA TOUR Champions, with four more to come. After a week off, major season resumes with the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Stricker is the defending PGA Senior champion, having outlasted Harrington in a playoff a year ago at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco in Texas.

Tammie Green riding state championship win into U.S. Senior Women's Open | KEN WILLIS

Of all things from which to take a 13-year break, then meet with some success, competitive golf must rank among the most unlikely.

“It came easier than I expected,” says Tammie Green, fresh off her second Florida Women’s Senior Open victory last week in Vero Beach.

Five years ago, at age 58 and 13 years removed from full-time LPGA play, Green “got the old bug back” in Daytona Beach, where she hunkered down at LPGA International to prepare for the inaugural U.S. Women’s Senior Open. Finishing eighth in Chicago did nothing to dampen the newfound desire.

She eventually made LPGA International her (mostly) full-time home, but this month she’s back in her native Ohio (Somerset) preparing for this year’s Senior Open, Aug. 24-27 in Portland, Oregon. 

The availability of faster greens — which she’ll see at the Open — and a smidge less humidity were the big draws, along with remaining family in the area (she's one of eight kids). She’s hired a nephew for caddy duties and she’s also getting in plenty of leg work for the 72-hole event, since the USGA keeps the carts parked for its championships.

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“Trying to keep the stamina at 63 isn’t easy,” says Green, who gives away 13 years to the youngest USGA competition, and 18 years at the LPGA Senior Championship, where 45 is the minimum age.

“There’s quite a difference between that and 63,” she says. “At 45, I was still in my physical prime. I feel good and I’m playing well, but I do notice a difference with age.”

A wave of confidence accompanied Green on her current Ohio visit, given her five-shot win over former LPGA Tour cohort Leta Lindley at the Florida Senior Open.

That state championship paid Green $6,500 — not bad, though relative pocket change for a golfer who won seven tournaments, including a major championship, and more than $4 million in nearly 20 years of LPGA Tour golf.

Ending her golf career was by design at first, but later by necessity, as life interfered in the worst of ways.

LPGA Tour years: Cashing in early and often

Green, who played basketball along with golf at Marshall University, wasted little time in getting her professional golf career off the tee in good shape. She won 10 times on the Futures Tour in 1985-86 before earning her big-league status with a second-place finish at the ’86 Tour Qualifying final. 

She was the LPGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 1987, posted six top-10s the next year, and in ’89, the first of her seven career victories was a major — the former du Maurier Classic in Canada. She continued as a consistent check-casher and enjoyed the peak of her career between 1993-98, when she won six times and played on two U.S. Solheim Cup teams.

One of her wins was the 1997 Titleholders Championship at her future LPGA International home course.

In 1998 she married Bill Parker and had a daughter, Tina Marie. Great results were fewer and farther between until 2004, when her daughter entered grade school and Green decided it was time to get off the road and settle into the life of drop-off lanes, teacher conferences and all the other motherhood norms.

“My daughter went to school and I felt like I needed to be there for her,” Green says. “I chose to have a child later in life, I felt I’d had a good career, so I semi-retired. Then I basically took 13 years off.”

Both husband Bill and Green’s mother had heart-bypass surgery around that time, but the cruelest blow came in ’09 when Bill was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He would live with it for 10 years, during which time Green’s mother had a stroke in 2014 and died in ’18. 

"It was a lot," she says.

Also in 2018, the USGA announced the inaugural U.S. Open Championship for senior women, and Green felt the pull.

“We went down and rented a place near LPGA, and I practiced and practiced,” she says. “I went to Chicago and finished eighth there, and that was it. In late 2018 we bought a home at LPGA and I started playing golf again.”

Bill was eventually placed in an assisted-living facility in Ormond Beach.

“His last three years, he didn’t know me,” Green says. “It was trying times.”

With age comes adjustments

Green didn’t necessarily expect this part-time “bonus career” in golf, but she’s enjoying it. Along with winning two Florida Senior Opens in the past few years, she’s finished between eighth and 12th in her four U.S. Senior Opens, and competes in the handful of annual Legends of the LPGA events.

The hard part, with the advancing years and all that time away, was facing reality and making the big move to friendlier equipment, Green says. Her steel-shaft irons, in the bag since 2003, weren’t worth the effort anymore.

“My shoulders were hurting, everything was hurting,” she says. “So I decided to make the transition to graphite, and it’s taken me a good four years to do that.

“Trying to get the distances and the feel — graphite just doesn’t have the feel for me. But I made the transition and feel pretty confident with the clubs I have now.”

She estimates she’s about 25 yards shorter off the tee than during her LPGA career, “but I’m striking it,” she says.

“And every now and then I’ll catch it and it doesn’t like I’ve lost a step at all. And some of the irons feel comparable to when I was on the tour. There’s not that big a difference, to tell the truth. I think the equipment has helped with that.”

Mentally and emotionally, Green says she doesn’t notice a tempering of competitive energy, largely because she was never a high-intensity player to begin with.

“I never got too fired up,” she says. “I always tried to remain calm and have a strong routine, so I wouldn’t deviate and let outside distractions get to me. I think I still have that same mentality.”

The biggest difference, emotionally, comes from interacting with fellow competitors, those she battled for nearly 20 years, then didn’t see for some 15 years after that.

“When we go to a tournament now, the camaraderie is so much better,” Green says. “We can actually have friendships now. There were times on tour, if you were getting reverse tee times, you might not see someone for months. But now we see each other more and get to know each other more.

“We have a lot more in common than we used to think.”

— Reach Ken Willis at [email protected]