The Senior Open Presented by Rolex at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club on July 28, 2023 in Bridgend, Wales. (Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images)
The Legends Tour has unveiled plans for a record-breaking 2024 season, headlined by its busiest schedule to date – including nine new events – and an eye-watering €18million prize pool.
Running from April to December, this year’s globetrotting schedule will feature 20 events – featuring new tournaments set to debut in Barbados, Kenya, Mexico, Spain, the UK and Zambia, with even more additions still to be announced.
They join Legends Tour staples such as the flagship Staysure PGA Seniors Championship – which will return to Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen following the success of last year’s event – and the Irish Legends at Seapoint Golf Links.
Many of the Legends Tour’s brightest stars will be eyeing up Major victory in 2024 at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores Golf Club, the US Senior Open at Newport Country Club and The Senior Open presented by Rolex at Carnoustie Golf Links.
The season will culminate with the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius at Constance Belle Mare Plage, where qualifying players will contest for the John Jacobs Trophy, which was won in 2023 by former Ryder Cup player Peter Baker.
As well as the tournament silverware, some of golf’s biggest names will also be competing for the largest prize pool in Legends Tour history. The €18million (more than €8.6million of which will be assigned outside of the Majors of senior men’s golf – the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, the US Senior Open and The Senior Open presented by Rolex) represents a 100 per cent increase since the tour returned to a full schedule in 2022 following the covid pandemic, with US$2million to play for in the final two events on the Road to Mauritius and a bonus pool of US$100,000 for the top five players in the final standings.
Complementing the drama of the professional events will be the unique Celebrity Pro-Am, which sees stars from the world of sport and entertainment competing to raise money and awareness for their chosen charities. Meanwhile, passionate amateurs can tee off alongside their heroes in the Legends Experience, the tour’s one-of-a-kind pro-am experience.
The announcement suggests the global growth of the Legends Tour – which hit new heights in 2023 – is set to continue. At the end of the season, the brand announced record figures for amateur participation, spectators and social media engagement, with the latter taking total reach across all channels to over 100million people for the first time.
In November, the inaugural Vinpearl DIC Legends Vietnam – the competition’s first foray into Vietnam – embodied the expansion into new markets, including Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Central America, that has characterised the Legends Tour’s first three years.
Phil Harrison, CEO of the Legends Tour, said: “We have been working hard behind the scenes, and 2024 promises to be another incredible year for the Legends Tour.
“Securing new events in some truly spectacular venues around the world is always a key objective of ours, and we are thrilled with the additions to the schedule for this season, as well as the prestigious venues we are honoured to return to.
“Everything – from the standard of competition to the number of amateurs getting involved – has been growing year on year, and this year will be no exception. We cannot wait to see it all unfold.”
