by “I am about to enter an inflatable colon.”
I never really thought I’d ever say those words, but I also never envisioned myself spending a weekend at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the season-ending event for the PGA Tour Champions. What started as a form of friendly hazing from Andy, much to the delight of Shotgun Start listeners, blossomed into a trip to Phoenix for an experience I’ll never forget.
It’s up for debate on whether the PGA Tour Champions should even exist. To some, it’s merely a waste of time, money, and other resources, providing these 50-plus-year-olds a glorified retirement plan as they barnstorm through smaller markets throughout the country. Outside of the ageless wonder, Bernhard Langer, you usually see guys on the younger side of the field clean up – Phil Mickelson (remember him?) won his first two starts on the Champs Tour in 2020 and won the Schwab Cup Championship in 2021, the same year he became golf’s oldest major champion at the PGA. Why is the PGA Tour subsidizing this, especially when there are so many issues with the main Tour these days?
I flew to Phoenix to try to figure that out. I wanted to ask: why is anyone here? I had no expectation of attendance, vibes, activations, or otherwise. I wanted to take it all in, whatever “it” was. As I sit here writing this, I think I was able to do that.
I spoke to a volunteer who told me he’s traveled the country working transportation at Solheim Cups, LPGA events, and countless Senior Tour stops. He noticed my Principal Charity Classic hat from afar and stopped me to discuss his experience in Iowa this year. He told me about his jar at home filled with golf balls he’s acquired from his journey, headlined by a signed one from Jack Nicklaus himself. I asked him why he was spending his retirement at all of these events.
“Where else do you get this kind of access to elite athletes?” he said. “I once had 30 minutes uninterrupted with Hale Irwin!”
This was his first trip to the Schwab Cup, too. What’s different about this event as opposed to the others he’s seen on the Champs Tour?
“The guy running the transportation here, he’s as organized as I’ve ever seen. He dots all the ‘i’s’, crosses all the ‘t’s,’ which is not the case at most places.” He continued, “This guy gets the call to work the BMW Championship, Ryder Cup, PGA Championships, stuff like that. I want to do good work so he remembers me for one of those.”
That’s a hilarious thought to me – using the Champs Tour to work your way up to the big tour, the complete antithesis of the entire concept at hand. But hey, that’s why he’s here. I hope to see him at Bethpage next fall.
Bernhard Langer, the man of the hour
Well, why are the players here? Bernhard Langer, the event’s winner, won the Masters twice and just retired from the DP World Tour in July. He tore his Achilles in February and now has 47 PGA Tour Champions victories to his name. What brought him to Phoenix at age 66 after a life-altering injury?
“Well, it would mean a great deal to win on a golf course and in a tournament that I hadn’t won for a number of times. So yeah, always means a lot to beat the best and the best are here,” Langer said after his Saturday round, holding the 54-hole lead. “I didn’t win this year. It’s the first time in my Champions Tour career that I didn’t win in a season.”
Twenty-four hours later, Langer would make a 30-foot birdie putt on the event’s final hole to extend his streak to 18 consecutive years on the PGA Tour Champions with a win, his first at Phoenix Country Club.
Now, are the best really here? It’s hard to be sure, as even the Champions Tour has some LIV issues splitting up the top players. The aforementioned Mickelson, of course, is a former champ, but Richard Bland won two (!) of the five senior majors this year. People (read: me) are wondering if this leaderboard would look the same if Blandemonium were sweeping Phoenix. Nevertheless, Bernhard had something new to play for after over 50 years in professional golf and he went out and got it. I think that’s pretty cool.
“It is very special. And winning never gets old,” Langer said in his post-round Sunday scrum when asked what it was like to do something for the first time this late in his career. “People say why am I still playing. Well, this is why, because I enjoy the adrenaline, I enjoy being in the hunt and I still feel like I can win and be there on the leaderboard. I’ve just proven that again, becoming the oldest winner again and again out here. It’s been great to compete against these guys.”
Richard Green wrapped up his second season on the PGA Tour Champions, and was one of six players able to control his own destiny at this weekend’s Schwab Cup Championship. Green never won on the PGA Tour, although he did win three times on the European Tour. He made it through PGA Tour Champions Q-School in 2022, and retained his card for this year after finishing 12th in the 2023 Schwab Cup standings. In the 2024 regular season, Green was a runner-up four times, still chasing his first-ever win in the United States. After a third-round 63, good for third place entering Sunday, I wanted to know what’s led to his success this year compared to last.
“I’ve learned a lot more from these golf courses this year from last year and I feel like I’ve been able to take what I’ve understood about last year into this year and improved,” Green said. “You know, I’ve been playing some of the best golf of my life and to have that now with the experience I’ve had for 30 years as a professional golfer is the reason why I’m playing well.”
Green had the clubhouse lead with just one group still to play on Sunday evening. Langer holed his bomb on 18, pushing Green to second in the weekly event and third in the season-long Schwab Cup, which was won by Steven Alker. For Green, it was another runner-up finish to end a year of runner-up finishes. But, even at age 53, a guy who’s been playing a sport professionally longer than I’ve been alive still feels that he has something to learn. That’s why he’s here, still trying to break through with a win that he’s been so close to for two years.
A very educational activation
As I found myself vlogging my way through a cancer-ridden inflatable colon, I didn’t really need to ask why I was in Phoenix for this event. This was why. Asking the bartenders how many “Chili Mango” Buzzballz they’ve sold this weekend was why. Seeing Doug Barron toss his ball into the crowd on 18 after playing in a cart by himself all afternoon on Friday, only to hit the glass wall protecting the legs of those in the hospitality tent, sending the ball into a greenside bunker was why. After a summer of chronicling guarantees from Peter Jacobsen, tracking Bob Papa’s whereabouts, and figuring out how to gamble on the senior circuit, I felt born for the opportunity to be onsite for the season’s end, making sure I shared as much of this insanity as possible.
Yeah, I went to Phoenix as a bit, with all of us knowing that the “Champions Tour Minute” segment had somehow gone too far. I’m leaving Phoenix with an even greater appreciation for the PGA Tour Champions, a place that’s still pure in a professional game riddled with issues involving the Department of Justice, golf simulators, and foreign wealth funds. Aside from myself, I don’t think a single person at Phoenix Country Club was wondering what Richard Bland was up to this weekend – it doesn’t matter to them. What matters is that Jason Caron, a club professional from Long Island, had his daughters make the trip out to PCC to see their dad play after securing full status for next season. Ken Tanigawa had his son on the bag all weekend long. Bernhard Langer shot his age or better for the 22nd time in an event on Friday. Three middle-aged men were high-fiving each other like little kids after receiving a “thank you” from Vijay Singh on the way to his cart on the 17th fairway. A “Walk to End Colon Cancer” on Saturday morning, complete with an inflatable, raised over $60,000 for charity. There’s no Saudi PIF noise, there’s no Atlanta Drive, it’s just some old guys trying to win a golf tournament. Rant about the financial implications and criticize its existence all you want – the Champions Tour is fun, a rarity in pro golf for 2024. What’s so bad about that?
I never did get to ask 2015 National Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky why he was in attendance on Friday, though. So I guess I didn’t get everything after all.
This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
