The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open), is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is jointly owned and run by

The R&A The R&A (or more formally, the R&A Trust Company (No. 1) Limited) is the collective name of a group of companies that together play a significant role within the game of golf. Historically, "the R&A" was a colloquial name for the Royal and A ...

, the same body that organises

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, and the PGA European Tour. Prize money won in the event is official money on both PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and Champions Tour) and the European Senior Tour. The purse, which is fixed in

United States dollar The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

s, had increased to $2.75 million for

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

History

The tournament was first held in 1987 and became part of the European Seniors Tour schedule in 1992. It is younger than the PGA Seniors Championship, which started in 1957, as well as the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship. In late 2002 it was designated as the fifth major championship on the Champions Tour schedule. Winners before 2003 were not retroactively designated as Champions Tour major winners until late 2018. Winners gain entry into the following season's Open Championship. The event is usually held the week following The Open Championship, although in 1991 it was held the week before the Open and in 1998 it was held in August, three weeks after the Open. The 2018 Senior Open was held at

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

for the first time, a decision which was heavily influenced by five-time Open champion Tom Watson. In 2020, the championship was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Field

The standard field size is 144 players and an 18-hole qualifying round is held at the championship course on the Monday before the tournament, with a minimum of 24 places available. If fewer than 120 exempt players enter, the field is filled to 144 with more high finishers from qualifying. If more than 120 exempt players enter, the top 24 finishers earn entry even if it causes the field to expand beyond 144.

Winners

Multiple winners

Seven players have multiple victories in the Senior Open Championship: *4 wins: Bernhard Langer (2010, 2014, 2017, 2019) *3 wins:

Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...

(1988, 1990, 1997), Tom Watson (2003, 2005, 2007) *2 wins: Bob Charles (1989, 1993), Brian Barnes (1995, 1996), Christy O'Connor Jnr (1999, 2000), Loren Roberts (2006, 2009)

Winners of both The Open and The Senior Open

Four players have won both

and The Senior Open Championship, (two of the professional majors run by the R&A).

Host courses

The Senior Open Championship has been played at the following courses, listed in order of number of times hosted (as of 2024): *7 Turnberry Golf Club (Ailsa Course) *6 Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce Course) *5 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club *3 Royal County Down Golf Club (Championship Course), Sunningdale Golf Club (Old Course), Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) *2

Royal Troon Golf Club Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire. The club was established in 1878, and originally only consisted of five holes whereas today, it has increased to a total of 45 holes. Its Old Course i ...

(Old Course) *1 Gleneagles (Kings Course),

, Muirfield, Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Walton Heath Golf Club, Royal Aberdeen Golf Club (Balgownie Course)

Future venues

Notes

References

External links

Coverage on the European Senior Tour's official siteCoverage on the PGA Tour Champions' official site
{{Golf PGA Tour Champions events European Senior Tour events Senior major golf championships Golf tournaments in the United Kingdom R&A championships 1987 establishments in Scotland Recurring sporting events established in 1987