Steve Stricker headlines top 10 PGA TOUR Champions storylines of 2023

1. Stricker rewrites the record books in historic year

Steve Stricker capped one of the greatest individual seasons in PGA TOUR Champions history by winning the Charles Schwab Cup for the first time. The 56-year-old led PGA TOUR Champions with six victories, including a record-tying three majors, and set the single-season records for scoring average (67.54) and money earned ($3,986,063). In all, Stricker notched top 10s in 15-of-16 starts, including 11 top-two finishes, and led the Charles Schwab Cup standings after 25 of the 28 weeks during the season.

Stricker opened the year with a six-stroke win at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, which included the low 18-hole score (60) and low 54-hole score (193) of the season by any player on PGA TOUR Champions. He won the Regions Tradition for the third time in four years before edging out Padraig Harrington in a playoff at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. In June, Stricker won his own event, the American Family Insurance Championship, before adding his third major title of the year at the Kaulig Companies Championship. His final win of the season came at the Sanford International, where he successfully defended his title.

2. Langer breaks the all-time wins record

World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer won twice in 2023 to set the PGA TOUR Champions all-time wins record with 46. The 65-year-old captured his fifth Chubb Classic title in February, shooting his age or better in the first and third rounds, to tie Hale Irwin with his 45th win on the Champions Tour. Langer broke the record at the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where he captured his 46th career victory on this Tour. Langer managed to hold off Wisconsin natives Stricker and Jerry Kelly, who finished second and third, respectively. With his win, Langer extended his own records for senior major titles (12) and oldest winner in PGA TOUR Champions history (65 years, 10 months, 5 days).

3. A win for Sam

Less than three months after the death of his caddie Sam Workman, Steven Alker won the Insperity Invitational in the Houston area. Workman, a Texas native and avid fan of the Houston Astros baseball team, died of cancer on Feb. 6 and was honored during tournament week with Astros ribbons. Alker’s son Ben caddied for the event, which took place in late April, as Workman’s family and friends watched on. Alker added a second win at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship and finished the year ranked No. 2 in the final standings.

4. Čejka overcomes the weather in Wales

In the toughest weather conditions of the season, Alex Čejka emerged victorious from the wind and rain at The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Čejka posted 5-over par, the third-highest winning score in PGA TOUR Champions history, before defeating Padraig Harrington in a playoff for his third senior major title. Čejka’s aggregate total of 289 was the highest 72-hole score on PGA TOUR Champions since 1980. During the final two days of competition, zero players recorded under-par rounds as the final-round scoring average was 78.515. The cumulative scoring average (75.823) was the highest in a Champions Tour event since 2008.

5. From Morocco to Seattle, Ames wins four times

Stephen Ames collected four victories across four different regions in 2023. He went wire-to-wire at the Trophy Hassan II, making 18 pars on a tough day of scoring in the final round in Morocco. Ames added victories at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Atlanta, hitting 51-of-54 greens in regulation, and the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa – both tournaments he had won before. His final win of the season came at the Boeing Classic in Seattle, where he played the final five holes in six under en route to a seven-stroke win, matching the largest margin of victory by any player in 2023.

6. Hensby’s breakthrough

Fifty-one-year-old Mark Hensby captured his first win on PGA TOUR Champions in April at the Invited Celebrity Classic in a four-hole playoff over Charlie Wi. It was his first win on a PGA TOUR-sanctioned Tour since the 2004 John Deere Classic. Hensby overcame a difficult past, which included an abusive father and mental health struggles, before first teeing it up on the Champions Tour. He considered retiring in late 2022 but decided to keep playing with the hope of earning his PGA TOUR Champions card for 2024. His win in Dallas solidified it.

7. Big comeback for the Big Easy

World Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els overcame a five-stroke deficit at the Hoag Classic for the largest final-round comeback of the season. Els closed with bogey-free 65, birdying two of the last three holes, to edge eventual Charles Schwab Cup winner Stricker and Doug Barron by one stroke. It was Els’ second victory at the event after winning the 2020 Hoag Classic. He finished the year ranked No. 3 in the final Charles Schwab Cup standings.

8. Harrington closes in style

Padraig Harrington, a 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, followed up his Rookie-of-the-Year campaign with a pair of victories in 2023. Harrington successfully defended his crown at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open, shooting a back-nine 28 in the final round, the lowest nine-hole score by any player on PGA TOUR Champions in 2023. It wouldn’t be the last time he’d finish strong on a Sunday during the season, as he closed with 64 to win the TimberTech Championship by seven strokes to match the largest margin of victory by any player in 2023. He finished the year ranked No. 4 in the final Charles Schwab Cup standings.

9. Mr. March

Fifthy-six-year-old David Toms won two of the three PGA TOUR Champions events contested in March, winning twice in a season for his first time since joining the Champions Tour in 2017. He topped Robert Karlsson by one stroke at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona, after saving bogey on the 18th hole of the final round. At the inaugural Galleri Classic in Palm Springs, California, Toms went wire-to-wire, birdying six of his last 10 holes en route to a four-stroke triumph.

10. Major highlights

Several PGA TOUR Champions players competed in majors and other events in 2023 and produced noteworthy performances:

• In March, Jerry Kelly became the oldest player to make the cut in PLAYERS Championship history at 56 years, 3 months, 16 days. With his T54 finish, he beat three players ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking at the time: No. 3 Rory McIlroy, No. 8 Will Zalatoris and No. 9 Justin Thomas.

• At the Masters, 1987 champion Larry Mize and 1988 champion Sandy Lyle each teed it up for the final time at the event. In addition, World Golf Hall of Fame member Fred Couples became the oldest player to make the cut in Masters Tournament history at 63 years, 6 months, 5 days.

• Harrington went 3-for-3 making the cut in the 2023 majors, highlighted by a T27 finish at the U.S. Open. The three-time major winner also played the weekend at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship.