Senior majors

Men's professional senior golf is for players aged fifty and above. Golf differs from all other sports in having lucrative competitions for this age group. The leading senior tour is the U.S. based Champions Tour, which was established in 1980 (as the Senior Tour). It has established a roster of five major championships. These events are all played over four rounds, whereas other senior tournaments are generally played over three 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. The senior majors are listed below in the order in which they are played each season

Related Topics:
Golf - Champions Tour - 1980

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• Senior PGA Championship (founded 1937; Champions Tour major since 1980)
• Senior Players Championship (Champions Tour major since foundation in 1983)
• Senior British Open (founded 1987; Champions Tour major since 2003)
• U.S. Senior Open (Champions Tour major since foundation in 1980)
• The Tradition (Champions Tour major since foundation in 1989)

The Senior Players Championship and the British and U.S Senior Opens are held in July and are consecutive on the schedule, though not all played in consecutive weeks. The Senior Players is held on the first weekend of July. There is no event in the week after the Senior Players, allowing golfers adequate time to travel to the United Kingdom and acclimatise for the Senior British Open two weeks later. The U.S. Senior Open is held the very next week. This gives the Champions Tour a very clear peak period, which is not found on most other tours, including the PGA Tour. Unlike the mainstream majors, some of the senior majors have title sponsors.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - PGA Tour - Majors

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The Senior PGA is by far the oldest of the senior majors, having commenced in the 1930s. The other four tournaments all date from 1980 or later, having been founded in the era when senior golf became a commercial success. This occurred when the first big golf stars of the television era, men such as Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, began to reach the relevant age.

Related Topics:
1930s - Television - Arnold Palmer - Gary Player

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Unlike mainstream men's golf, the senior game does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The three majors recognised by the European Seniors Tour are the Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. and British Senior Opens. However, the Champions Tour is much more dominant in global senior golf than the PGA Tour is in mainstream men's golf.

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Senior majors: Senior major winners ►