Champions Tour 2008 Guide - PGA TOUR Media
Champions Tour 2008 Guide - PGA TOUR Media
Champions Tour 2008 Guide - PGA TOUR Media
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Historical Highlights of the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>1980January 16 — A landmark meeting laid the formal groundwork for the<strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>, which was known as the Senior <strong>PGA</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> from 1980 throughthe 2002 season. Attending that meeting were Sam Snead, Bob Goalby, DonJanuary and the late Julius Boros, Gardner Dickinson and Dan Sikes. Sikes isnamed chairman of what became known as the Senior Advisory Council, andSnead was named honorary chairman. January 22 — The new Senior <strong>Tour</strong> isformally approved by the <strong>Tour</strong>nament Policy Board of the <strong>PGA</strong> <strong>TOUR</strong>. Theschedule calls for two sanctioned events for a total of $250,000 in prize money.June 22 — Don January wins the first official <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> event, theAtlantic City International in Atlantic City, NJ, defeating Mike Souchak by twostrokes. December 7 — Arnold Palmer becomes the first of only 10 playersto win in his first <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> start, defeating Paul Harney in a playoff forthe <strong>PGA</strong> Seniors’ <strong>Champions</strong>hip.1981June 7 — Don January becomes the first player to win back-to-back <strong>Champions</strong><strong>Tour</strong> events when he triumphs at the Michelob-Egypt Temple Senior Classic inTampa and then the Eureka Federal Savings Classic at Harding Park GC in SanFrancisco. July 12 — Arnold Palmer wins an 18-hole playoff over Billy Casperand Bob Stone at Oakland Hills CC for the U.S. Senior Open title. Palmerbecomes the first player to win both a U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open crown inhis career. October 17 — Art Wall makes the first hole-in-one on the<strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> during the second round of the Suntree Seniors Classic inMelbourne, FL.1982The <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> doubles in size from five to 11 tournaments, and prizemoney increases from $750,000 to $1.3 million. June 25 — Al Balding recordsthe first double-eagle in <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> history in the second round of the PeterJackson <strong>Champions</strong> in Winnipeg, Manitoba.1983Prize money offered for players on the 50-and-over circuit exceeds $3 millionwith 18 tournaments on the schedule. Don January wins six tournaments andsupplants fellow Texan Miller Barber as the leading money-winner with$237,571. October 15 — Gene Littler birdies his first seven holes and goes outin eight-under 28 in the third round of the Suntree Classic in Melbourne, FL.Littler’s nine-hole score stands as an all-time <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> record for 15years, until it is broken by Jay Sigel’s 27 during the 1998 Bell Atlantic Classic,and Seiji Ebihara’s at the 2002 Senior <strong>PGA</strong> <strong>Champions</strong>hip.1984Growth continues at a rapid rate when a slate of 24 events and total prize moneywell over $5 million is announced. Don January becomes the first player to goover $300,000 in single-season earnings ($328,597) en route to his secondconsecutive money title.1985With 27 events worth more than $6 million in total purses, the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>is large enough to merit its establishment as a division of the <strong>PGA</strong> <strong>TOUR</strong> and itsown logo. The <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> also becomes a distinct and separate operatingand financial entity, with net revenue going to fund a newly created SeniorPlayer Retirement Plan. A cable television package with ESPN allows sevenevents to enjoy national cable exposure, with the production costs partiallyfunded by Mazda Motors of America. March 17 — Australian Peter Thomson,a five-time British Open winner, wins the first of a record nine tournaments atThe Vintage Invitational. October 13 — On his 63rd birthday, Mike Fetchickwins the Hilton Head Seniors International. Fetchick establishes the mark as theoldest <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> winner and is victorious for the first time in over 28 years(1956 Mayfair Inn Open), the longest time between a <strong>PGA</strong> <strong>TOUR</strong> and <strong>Champions</strong><strong>Tour</strong> title. November 23 — South African Gary Player triumphs in his<strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> debut at the Quadel Seniors Classic in Boca Raton, FL. Hebecomes the second player to claim the first tournament he enters.1986Bruce Crampton, Bob Charles, Dale Douglass and Chi Chi Rodriguez are among thenew faces on the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> and signify a changing of the guard on thecircuit. One new tournament is added to the schedule and prize money increasesto $6.3 million. June 22 — Chi Chi Rodriguez triumphs at the Senior <strong>Tour</strong>namentPlayers <strong>Champions</strong>hip in Cleveland, the first of his 22 <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> career titles.1987The Vantage brand of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company introduces its VantageCup program to the 35-event <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>. Vantage involvement includes a $1million, season-long team points competition; sponsorship of the first $1 milliontournament on the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>, the Vantage <strong>Champions</strong>hip; sponsorship ofa “Super Seniors” competition for players 60 and older; and an advancedelectronic scoreboard system. The size of <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> tournament fieldsexpands to 72 players and, for the first time, the pro-am portion and tournamentportion of events are separated.1988The <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> grows to 37 events and purses eclipse the $10 million mark.Vantage sponsors the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>’s first-ever statistical program. March 6— Orville Moody closes with a 63, setting a 72-hole <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> scoringrecord of 25-under 263 and tying Arnold Palmer’s record for largest victorymargin with his 11-stroke win at the Vintage Chrysler Invitational in IndianWells, CA. September 18 — Arnold Palmer wins the last of his 10 <strong>Champions</strong><strong>Tour</strong> career titles at the Crestar Classic near Richmond, VA, defeating Lee Elder,Larry Mowry and Jim Ferree by four strokes.1989<strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> tournament fields increase to 78 players and 21 tournaments airon national television. March 5 — Miller Barber wins the last of his 24 official<strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> career titles at The Vintage Chrysler Invitational in Palm Desert,CA. September 22 — Hurricane Hugo wipes out the PaineWebber Invitationalin Charlotte. December 7 — Lee Trevino debuts on the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> at theGTE Kaanapali Classic and ties for seventh in the rain-shortened event.1990Cadillac Motor Car Division comes aboard as the umbrella sponsor for<strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> cable telecasts. Lee Trevino is the dominant performer. The“Merry Mex” easily snares both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honorsafter seven wins and official earnings of $1,190,518. He also earns his firstByron Nelson Trophy with a scoring average of 68.89, a record that will stand foreight years on the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>. February 4 — Lee Trevino makes up sevenshots in the final nine holes to overtake Jim Dent for the Royal Caribbean Classictitle on Key Biscayne, FL, his first victory on the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>. April 1 — JackNicklaus captures The Tradition crown in Scottsdale and becomes the fourthplayer to win in his <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> debut. June 10 — Jack Nicklaus ripsDearborn (MI) CC apart to win the Mazda Senior TPC by six strokes over LeeTrevino. Nicklaus’ 27-under 261 total sets a new standard for scoring in a 72-hole event on the <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>. July 1 — Lee Trevino nips Jack Nicklaus atRidgewood CC in New Jersey for the U.S. Senior Open title. Trevino’s win makeshim the fifth player to claim a U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open crown.December 16 — Lee Trevino’s runner-up performance at the season-endingNew York Life <strong>Champions</strong> in Puerto Rico puts him over the seven-figure mark andmakes him the first single-season millionaire in <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> history.1991The list of <strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> millionaires grows when Mike Hill becomes thesecond senior to top $1 million in 1991. Hill wins five times and shares Player ofthe Year honors with George Archer. June 9 — Jim Albus shocks the golf worldby becoming the first former club professional to win a senior major. Albus holdsoff three players at the TPC Michigan to win the Mazda Senior Players<strong>Champions</strong>hip by three strokes. July 28 — Jack Nicklaus becomes the first tocomplete the Senior Slam when he defeats Chi Chi Rodriguez in an 18-holeplayoff for the U.S. Senior Open title at Oakland Hills CC. The victory is Nicklaus’third senior major of the season. Earlier in the campaign, the Golden Bearsuccessfully defended his Tradition title and waltzed to an easy triumph at the<strong>PGA</strong> Seniors’ <strong>Champions</strong>hip.SECTION1 INTRODUCTION<strong>PGA</strong><strong>TOUR</strong>.COM<strong>Champions</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> <strong>2008</strong> <strong>Guide</strong>1-17