Senior major golf championships
Men's professional senior golf is for players aged 50 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. 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—only one other current Champions Tour event, the limited-field and season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, is played over four rounds. A golfer's performances can be quite variable from one round to the next, so playing an extra round increases the likelihood that the senior majors will be won by leading players.
In the current order of play, the senior majors are:
- The Tradition – May
- Senior PGA Championship – May
- U.S. Senior Open – July
- Senior Players Championship – June
- The Senior Open Championship – July
The order of play has changed many times during the history of senior golf, especially since 2006:
- In 2006 the U.S. Senior Open, Senior Players Championship, and Senior British Open were held in July and were consecutive on the schedule. There was 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. This gave the Champions Tour a very clear peak period, which is not found on most other tours, including the PGA Tour. The Tradition was the last major on the schedule.
- In 2007 the Senior Players Championship moved to October, two months after The Tradition, to spread the majors over a longer period of time.
- In 2008, the U.S. Senior Open moved to the week after the Senior British Open. This once again gave the Champions Tour a clear peak period, with no tournament held between the U.S. Senior Open and The Tradition. In 2010, there was a regular tournament in the week after the U.S. Senior Open, followed by a one-week break before The Tradition.
- The 2011 season saw another significant schedule change. The Tradition moved from late August to early May, becoming the first major of the season. The Senior Players Championship moved from October to the August date vacated by The Tradition.
- In 2012, the order was almost completely reshuffled. The schedule was also greatly compressed, with all five majors now being played in a two-month period:
- * The Senior PGA Championship remained at its end of May slot.
- * The Tradition moved from early May to mid-June.
- * The Senior Players Championship, formerly the last major of the season in August, moved to late June/early July
- * The U.S. Senior Open remains the fourth major in schedule order, but is now held in mid-July.
- * The Senior British Open kept its 2011 date, but due to the other schedule changes is now the final major.
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.
Unlike mainstream men's golf, the senior game does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The three majors recognised by the European Senior 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.
Senior major winners
The table below show the results of all the events designated as majors by the Champions Tour. As the order in which the majors were played frequently changes, they are listed in the current order of play. Winners of Senior PGA Championships played before 1980 and Senior British Opens played before 2003 are not listed here as they were not Champions Tour majors at the time nor retroactively recognized as majors. Those winners are shown in the tournaments' articles. The other three tournaments have been Champions Tour majors throughout their existence. The Senior PGA Championship was held twice in 1984 but was not held in 1983 or 1985.Bernhard Langer holds the record for the most senior majors won with eleven. Gary Player has also won nine championships that are now considered senior golf majors, but three of his titles came at the Senior Open Championship before this tournament officially gained senior major status. Jack Nicklaus has won eight senior majors and holds the record for the most regular majors won.
Bernhard Langer is the only player to have won each of the five senior major championships and is therefore held to have won the 'Career Grand Slam.' In his time, Nicklaus also held a 'Career Grand Slam' as the Senior British Open did not become the fifth senior major until 2003, by which time Nicklaus had effectively retired from senior golf.
| Year | The Tradition | Senior PGA Championship | U.S. Senior Open | Senior Players Championship | Senior British Open |
| 2020 | Sep 24–27, Greystone G&CC Rescheduled due to coronavirus pandemic | Canceled due to coronavirus pandemic | Canceled due to coronavirus pandemic | Aug 13–16, Firestone Country Club Rescheduled due to coronavirus pandemic | Canceled due to coronavirus pandemic |
| 2019 |  Steve Stricker | Ken Tanigawa | Steve Stricker |  Retief Goosen |  Bernhard Langer |
| 2018 |  Miguel Ángel Jiménez |  Paul Broadhurst | David Toms |  Vijay Singh | Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
| 2017 | Bernhard Langer | Bernhard Langer | Kenny Perry | Scott McCarron | Bernhard Langer |
| 2016 | Bernhard Langer | Rocco Mediate | Gene Sauers | Bernhard Langer | Paul Broadhurst |
| 2015 | Jeff Maggert |  Colin Montgomerie | Jeff Maggert | Bernhard Langer | Marco Dawson |
| 2014 | Kenny Perry | Colin Montgomerie | Colin Montgomerie | Bernhard Langer | Bernhard Langer |
| 2013 | David Frost |  Kōki Idoki | Kenny Perry | Kenny Perry | Mark Wiebe |
| 2012 | Tom Lehman | Roger Chapman | Roger Chapman | Joe Daley | Fred Couples |
| 2011 | Tom Lehman | Tom Watson | Olin Browne | Fred Couples | Russ Cochran |
| 2010 | Fred Funk | Tom Lehman | Bernhard Langer | Mark O'Meara | Bernhard Langer |
| 2009 | Mike Reid | Michael Allen | Fred Funk | Jay Haas | Loren Roberts |
| 2008 | Fred Funk | Jay Haas |  Eduardo Romero | D. A. Weibring | Bruce Vaughan |
| 2007 |  / Mark McNulty | Denis Watson | Brad Bryant | Loren Roberts | Tom Watson |
| 2006 | Eduardo Romero | Jay Haas | Allen Doyle | Bobby Wadkins | Loren Roberts |
| 2005 | Loren Roberts | Mike Reid | Allen Doyle | Peter Jacobsen | Tom Watson |
| 2004 | Craig Stadler | Hale Irwin | Peter Jacobsen | Mark James | Pete Oakley |
| 2003 | Tom Watson | John Jacobs | Bruce Lietzke | Craig Stadler | Tom Watson |
| 2002 | Jim Thorpe | Fuzzy Zoeller | Don Pooley |  Stewart Ginn | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 2001 | Doug Tewell | Tom Watson | Bruce Fleisher | Allen Doyle | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 2000 | Tom Kite | Doug Tewell | Hale Irwin | Raymond Floyd | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1999 | Graham Marsh | Allen Doyle | Dave Eichelberger | Hale Irwin | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1998 | Gil Morgan | Hale Irwin | Hale Irwin | Gil Morgan | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1997 | Gil Morgan | Hale Irwin | Graham Marsh | Larry Gilbert | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1996 | Jack Nicklaus | Hale Irwin | Dave Stockton | Raymond Floyd | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1995 | Jack Nicklaus | Raymond Floyd | Tom Weiskopf | J. C. Snead | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1994 | Raymond Floyd | Lee Trevino | Simon Hobday | Dave Stockton | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1993 | Tom Shaw | Tom Wargo | Jack Nicklaus | Jim Colbert | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1992 | Lee Trevino | Lee Trevino | Larry Laoretti | Dave Stockton | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1991 | Jack Nicklaus | Jack Nicklaus | Jack Nicklaus | Jim Albus | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1990 | Jack Nicklaus |  Gary Player | Lee Trevino | Jack Nicklaus | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1989 | Don Bies | Larry Mowry | Orville Moody | Orville Moody | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1988 | Not yet founded | Gary Player | Gary Player | Billy Casper | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1987 | Not yet founded | Chi-Chi Rodríguez | Gary Player | Gary Player | Not a Champions Tour event |
| 1986 | Not yet founded | Gary Player | Dale Douglass | Chi-Chi Rodríguez | Not yet founded |
| 1985 | Not yet founded | Not held | Miller Barber | Arnold Palmer | Not yet founded |
| 1984 | Not yet founded | December: Peter Thomson | Miller Barber | Arnold Palmer | Not yet founded |
| 1984 | Not yet founded | January: Arnold Palmer | Miller Barber | Arnold Palmer | Not yet founded |
| 1983 | Not yet founded | Not held | Billy Casper | Miller Barber | Not yet founded |
| 1982 | Not yet founded | Don January | Miller Barber | Not yet founded | Not yet founded |
| 1981 | Not yet founded | Miller Barber | Arnold Palmer | Not yet founded | Not yet founded |
| 1980 | Not yet founded | Arnold Palmer | Roberto DeVicenzo | Not yet founded | Not yet founded |