European Senior Tour
The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insurance company Staysure became the first-ever title sponsors of the senior tour in December 2017.[1][2] The tour was relaunched as the Legends Tour[3][4] in 2020, after Ryan Howsam, founder and owner of Staysure, took majority ownership in a joint venture with the European Tour.
Current season, competition or edition: 2023 European Senior Tour | |
 Legends Tour logo | |
| Formerly | European Seniors Tour Staysure Tour |
|---|---|
| Sport | Golf |
| Founded | 1992 |
| CEO | Phil Harrison |
| Countries | Based in Europe[lower-alpha 1] |
| Most titles | Order of Merit titles: 5:  Tommy HortonTournament wins: 25: Carl Mason |
| TV partner(s) | Sky Sports (UK) |
| Related competitions | European Tour |
| Official website | https://www.legendstour.com/ |
History
The Tour was founded in 1992 after calls from 60 leading professionals five years after the first Senior Open Championship in 1987. The highest profile event in Europe is the Senior British Open Championship, which is co-sanctioned by PGA Tour Champions and was played on the Old Course at St Andrews for the first time in 2018. The European Tour co-sanctions the Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open. Prize money in the latter does not count towards the Order of Merit, but since 2007 the former has been an official money event.[5]
Tour schedules
The table below summarises the development of the tour since 1999, which was the year that the euro became the currency of record for the tour. Individual tournaments have purses fixed in a mixture of British pounds, euros and U.S. dollars, so year on year changes in the total prize fund reflect exchange rate fluctuations as well as prize fund movements in constant currencies.
| Year | Tournaments | Total purse (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16 | |
| 2021 | 10 | |
| 2020 | Cancelled - Covid19 | |
| 2019 | 19 | |
| 2018 | 19 | |
| 2017 | 15 | |
| 2016 | 13 | |
| 2015 | 12 | 12,030,299 |
| 2014 | 14 | 6,957,767 |
| 2013 | 16 | 5,089,169 |
| 2012 | 16 | 7,454,025 |
| 2011 | 22 | 8,971,738 |
| 2010 | 21 | 9,043,584 |
| 2009 | 16 | 7,045,769 |
| 2008 | 18 | 7,729,284 |
| 2007 | 19 | 8,305,947 |
| 2006 | 17 | 6,346,453 |
| 2005 | 21 | 7,019,820 |
| 2004 | 20 | 6,340,626 |
| 2003 | 20 | 6,041,828 |
| 2002 | 19 | 5,497,811 |
| 2001 | 20 | 6,539,844 |
| 2000 | 20 | 4,714,254 |
| 1999 | 17 | 3,266,041 |
Order of Merit winners
The winner of the Order of Merit is awarded the John Jacobs Trophy.[6][7]
| Year | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  James Kingston | 2,845 |
| 2021 |  Stephen Dodd | 1,830 |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2019 | Phillip Price | 2,888 |
| Year | Player | Prize money (€) |
| 2018 | Paul Broadhurst (2) | 547,793 |
| 2017 |  Clark Dennis | 222,055 |
| 2016 | Paul Broadhurst | 399,285 |
| 2015 |  Colin Montgomerie (2) | 679,147 |
| 2014 | Colin Montgomerie | 624,543 |
| 2013 | Paul Wesselingh | 311,644 |
| 2012 | Roger Chapman | 356,751 |
| 2011 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Peter Fowler | 302,327 |
| 2010 |  Boonchu Ruangkit | 266,609 |
| 2009 | Sam Torrance (3) | 170,696 |
| 2008 | Ian Woosnam | 320,120 |
| 2007 | Carl Mason (3) | 412,376 |
| 2006 | Sam Torrance (2) | 347,525 |
| 2005 | Sam Torrance | 277,421 |
| 2004 | Carl Mason (2) | 354,743 |
| 2003 | Carl Mason | 350,242 |
| 2002 |  Seiji Ebihara | 330,211 |
| 2001 | Ian Stanley | 287,025 |
| 2000 | Noel Ratcliffe | 163,167 |
| 1999 | Tommy Horton (5) | 138,944 |
| 1998 | Tommy Horton (4) | 178,719 |
| 1997 | Tommy Horton (3) | 221,798 |
| 1996 | Tommy Horton (2) | 186,473 |
| 1995 | Brian Barnes | 89,068 |
| 1994 | John Morgan | 80,093 |
| 1993 | Tommy Horton | 79,709 |
| 1992 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} John Fourie | 66,998 |
Leading career money winners
The table below shows the top ten career money leaders on the European Senior Tour as of the end of the 2018 season.
| Rank | Player | Prize money (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bernhard Langer | 2,811,071 |
| 2 | Carl Mason | 2,757,126 |
| 3 | Colin Montgomerie | 1,943,628 |
| 4 | Nick Job | 1,653,634 |
| 5 | Peter Fowler | 1,652,178 |
| 6 | Barry Lane | 1,571,534 |
| 7 | Tom Watson | 1,570,663 |
| 8 | Sam Torrance | 1,560,985 |
| 9 | Tommy Horton | 1,527,506 |
| 10 | Bill Longmuir | 1,472,192 |
There is a full list that is updated after each tournament on the European Tour's website here.
Notes
- Schedules have included events outside Europe; in Asia, Africa, Australasia and North America.
References
- "Ground-breaking joint venture creates new Legends Tour". PGA European Tour. 1 September 2020.
- "Staysure to become first title sponsor of the European Senior Tour". PGA European Tour. 7 December 2017.
- "Legends Tour Website - Ryan Howsam – the businessman with a vision". www.legendstour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- "Staysure Tour to become Legends Tour in unique agreement". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- "Strong Seniors contingent head to the United States". PGA European Tour. 21 May 2007. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
- "John Jacobs Trophy Winners". PGA European Tour. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017.
- "European Senior Tour Order of Merit winners 1992 - 2016". PGA European Tour. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017.