Record purses seem to be everywhere in professional golf and the PGA Tour Champions is no different. The tour announced its 2023 schedule on Tuesday and it’ll feature 28 events—25 regular season and three postseason to determine the Charles Schwab Cup—and more than $66 million in total prize money, the most in the 43-year history of the tour.
The schedule will add a new tournament in California, spread out over 20 different states and will visit Morocco, Wales and Canada.
“Thanks to the strength of our tournament and title sponsors, the future and stability of PGA Tour Champions has never been more secure,” said Champions’ president Miller Brady. “We are thrilled to have the highest purses in PGA Tour Champions history and to be able to bring the game of golf to the many wonderful venues on this Tour.”
The season will begin January 16 in Hawaii at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai then will take two weeks off before returning for the Trophy Hassan II at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco. After stops in Florida, Arizona and California, a second event was added to the Golden State March 24-26—the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, longtime home of the LPGA’s first major of the year. It’ll be the first time the PGA Tour Champions has hosted a tournament in the Coachella Valley in 30 years.
The tour will continue with its five major championships, the first coming May 11-14 at the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala. Two weeks later will be the Senior PGA Championship in Texas and the U.S. Senior Open—at $4 million, the largest purse on the schedule—will be held at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis.
The Bridgestone Senior Players Championship is getting a new name—the Kaulig Companies Championship will be July 13-16—but it will remain at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. The Senior Open rounds out the major lineup July 27-30 at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.
The regular season comes to an end October 15 at the SAS Championship in North Carolina and the three-event playoffs to determine the Charles Schwab Cup will follow, ending with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship Nov. 10-12 at Phoenix Country Club in Arizona.
Steven Alker just won the first playoff event last week, the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, by a shot over K.J. Choi. Alker leads the Charles Schwab Cup points over Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker with two events remaining.