The Champions Tour is a competition run by the PGA that allows professional golfers aged fifty and up to play. It is hugely exciting to watch as it is without a doubt a tournament of legends, with some of the greatest players in the game and 16 World Golf Hall of fame members competing in its events. The tour was started with just 4 events and a purse totalling $475,000 in 1980 and was originally called the Senior PGA Tour until 2002 when the name was changed to the Champion's Tour. The 2010 season included 26 official events offering $51.5 million in official prize money, with an average tournament purse of $1.98 million. The Tour is played each year both in the United States and The United Kingdom.

The 2010 Season

The 2010 season featured 26 events, an increase from 25 in 2009. The Champions Tour played in 15 US states and four countries, including the Dominican Republic, Canada, Scotland and for the first time, South Korea. The season kicked offJanuary18-24 in Hawaii at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai , with the first full field event being played three weeks later at The ACE Group Classic, which was played at The Quarry in Florida.

Two new events were added to the 2010 schedule. The Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic was held April 26-May 2 in Biloxi at the Fallen Oak Golf Course. In September, the Champions Tour hosted a landmark event in Asia, the New Songdo City Championship, at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Songdo, located 40 miles west of Seoul in South Koreas largest current economic development project. The season concluded events with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on November 1-7, which relocated to San Franciscos Harding Park, site of the 2009 Presidents Cup for 2010-11. The 2010 field size for the Champions Tour events was 78 players.

Major Championships

The Champions Tours lineup of major championships featured four new top venues: The Ben Crenshaw designed Colorado Golf Club located just outsideof Denver, hosted the Senior PGA Championship on May 24-30th; Carnoustie Golf Club in Scotland hosted the Senior British Open Championship on July 19-25th; Sahalee Country Club near Seattle, hosted the U.S. Senior Open and the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championshipwas moved to TPC Potomac at Avenel Farmin Potomac, on October. 4-10th . Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort outside Bend, hosted the JELD-WEN Tradition on August 16-22th for the fourth straight year.

World Golf Hall of Fame Members

The following 28 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame are members of the Champions Tour: Isao Aoki, Deane Beman, Billy Casper, Bob Charles, Ben Crenshaw, Roberto De Vicenzo, Nick Faldo, Raymond Floyd, Hubert Green, Hale Irwin, Tony Jacklin, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Gene Littler, Johnny Miller, Larry Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Nick Price, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Charlie Sifford, Curtis Strange, Peter Thomson, Lee Trevino, Lanny Wadkins and Tom Watson. The 16 Hall of Fame members who are currently active account for 49 major championships and 287 PGA TOUR victories total, 194 Champions Tour titles including 27 Champions Tour Majors and over 354 International wins. Other memberswho played on the Champions Tour include Seve Ballesteros, Tommy Bolt, Julius Boros, Jack Burke, Jr., Paul Runyan and Sam Snead.

Awards

The Champions Tour presents the following awards annually:

Champions Tour Player of the Year/Jack Nicklaus Trophy

Charles Schwab Cup

Champions Tour Rookie of the Year

Champions Tour Comeback Player of the Year

Arnold Palmer Award (leading money-winner)

Byron Nelson Award (scoring leader)

CTTA Bruno Award (contributions to the Champions Tour)

Champions Tour Charity of the Year

Champions Tour Volunteer of the Year

The Champions Tour also recognises a Player of the Month (January through October).

Charles Schwab Cup: Facts and Figures

The Charles Schwab Cup was launched in 2001 and is a season-long, points-based competition to determine the Champions Tour's leading player. The program rewards both consistency and top-10 finishes week-in and week-out at all Charles Schwab Cup events. Prize money is a $2.1-million annuity to the top five point earners at season's end. Points are awarded to the top-10 finishers and ties in all the tournaments are based on the money distribution for each tournament, with every $1,000 earned being the equivalent of one Charles Schwab Cup point. Points are doubled at the Champions Tour's five major championships and to the entire 30-player field at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in November.