Senior Players Championship

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 42 years ago in 1983 and the age minimum is 50,^[1][2][3] the standard for men's senior professional golf tournaments.

Senior Players Championship

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 Show map of the United States Firestone CC Location in Ohio Show map of 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

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

The 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

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share ($)	Venue	Location
Kaulig Companies Championship
2024	Ernie Els	270	−10	1 stroke	Yang Yong-eun	525,000	Firestone (South Course)	Akron, Ohio
2023	Steve Stricker (2)	269	−11	3 strokes	David Toms	525,000	Firestone (South Course)	Akron, Ohio
Bridgestone Senior Players Championship
2022	Jerry Kelly (2)	269	−11	2 strokes	Steve Stricker	450,000	Firestone (South Course)	Akron, Ohio
2021	Steve Stricker	273	−7	6 strokes	Jerry Kelly	420,000	Firestone (South Course)	Akron, Ohio
2020	Jerry Kelly	277	−3	2 strokes	Scott Parel	420,000	Firestone (South Course)	Akron, Ohio
2019	Retief Goosen	274	−6	2 strokes	Jay Haas Tim Petrovic	420,000	Firestone (South Course)	Akron, Ohio
Constellation Senior Players Championship
2018	Vijay Singh	268	−20	Playoff	Jeff Maggert	420,000	Exmoor	Highland Park, Illinois
2017	Scott McCarron	270	−18	1 stroke	Brandt Jobe Bernhard Langer	420,000	Caves Valley	Owings Mills, Maryland
2016	Bernhard Langer (3)	281	+1	1 stroke	Joe Durant Miguel Ángel Jiménez	420,000	Philadelphia (Wissahickon Course)	Flourtown, Pennsylvania
2015	Bernhard Langer (2)	265	−19	5 strokes	Kirk Triplett	405,000	Belmont	Belmont, Massachusetts
2014	Bernhard Langer	265	−15	Playoff	Jeff Sluman	405,000	Fox Chapel	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2013	Kenny Perry	261	−19	5 strokes	Fred Funk	405,000	Fox Chapel	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2012	Joe Daley	266	−14	2 strokes	Tom Lehman	405,000	Fox Chapel	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship
2011	Fred Couples	273	−11	Playoff	John Cook	405,000	Westchester	Harrison, New York
2010	Mark O'Meara	273	−7	Playoff	Michael Allen	405,000	TPC Potomac	Potomac, Maryland
2009	Jay Haas	267	−13	1 stroke	Tom Watson	405,000	Baltimore (East Course)	Timonium, Maryland
2008	D. A. Weibring	271	−9	1 stroke	Fred Funk	390,000	Baltimore (East Course)	Timonium, Maryland
2007	Loren Roberts	267	−13	6 strokes	Tom Watson	390,000	Baltimore (East Course)	Timonium, Maryland
Ford Senior Players Championship
2006	Bobby Wadkins	274	−14	1 stroke	Jim Thorpe	375,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
2005	Peter Jacobsen	273	−15	1 stroke	Hale Irwin	375,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
2004	Mark James	275	−13	1 stroke	José María Cañizares	375,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
2003	Craig Stadler	271	−17	3 strokes	Tom Kite Jim Thorpe Tom Watson	375,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
2002	Stewart Ginn	274	−14	1 stroke	Hubert Green Mike McCullough Jim Thorpe	375,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
2001	Allen Doyle	273	−15	Playoff	Doug Tewell	375,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
2000	Raymond Floyd (2)	273	−15	1 stroke	Larry Nelson Dana Quigley	345,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
1999	Hale Irwin	267	−21	7 strokes	Graham Marsh	300,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
1998	Gil Morgan	267	−21	3 strokes	Hale Irwin	300,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
1997	Larry Gilbert	274	−14	3 strokes	Isao Aoki Bob Dickson Jack Kiefer Dave Stockton	270,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
1996	Raymond Floyd	275	−13	2 strokes	Hale Irwin	225,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
1995	J. C. Snead	272	−16	Playoff	Jack Nicklaus	225,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
1994	Dave Stockton (2)	271	−17	6 strokes	Jim Albus	210,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
1993	Jim Colbert	278	−10	1 stroke	Raymond Floyd	180,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
The Senior Players Championship
1992	Dave Stockton	277	−11	1 stroke	J. C. Snead Lee Trevino	150,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
1991	Jim Albus	279	−9	3 strokes	Bob Charles Charles Coody Dave Hill	150,000	TPC of Michigan	Dearborn, Michigan
Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship
1990	Jack Nicklaus	261	−27	6 strokes	Lee Trevino	150,000	Dearborn	Dearborn, Michigan
1989	Orville Moody	271	−17	2 strokes	Charles Coody	105,000	TPC at Sawgrass	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
1988	Billy Casper	278	−10	2 strokes	Al Geiberger	60,000	TPC at Sawgrass	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
1987	Gary Player	280	−8	1 stroke	Bruce Crampton Chi-Chi Rodríguez	60,000	Sawgrass	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Senior Tournament Players Championship
1986	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	206[a]	−10	2 strokes	Bruce Crampton	45,000	Canterbury	Beachwood, Ohio
1985	Arnold Palmer (2)	274	−14	11 strokes	Miller Barber Lee Elder Gene Littler Charles Owens	36,000	Canterbury	Beachwood, Ohio
1984	Arnold Palmer	276	−12	3 strokes	Peter Thomson	36,000	Canterbury	Beachwood, Ohio
1983	Miller Barber	278	−10	1 stroke	Gene Littler	40,000	Canterbury	Beachwood, Ohio

Multiple winners

Through 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

Three 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

1. Shortened to 54 holes due to rain.