A professional golfers career can span a very long time, something that not many sports can relate to. This is, in part, thanks to the creation of senior tours.
Although their lucrative nature and limited participation spots, the PGA Tour Champions, Legends Tour (DP World Tour) and Legends of the LPGA, all give former regular tour players the ability to keep playing competitive golf and ultimately continue earning a nice pay check.
Players have to be 50 or older to be eligible to play on both the men's American and European senior circuits, while ladies have to be 45 or older to compete on their senior tour.
The only distinction the women's tour has is they have to be 50 or older to compete in their senior Majors.
What Are The Men's Senior Major's?
There are currently five Major championships played on the men's senior circuits, all of which are recognized by the PGA Tour Champions.
The oldest lucrative tournament was the Senior PGA Championship which was established in 1937.
Three more Majors would go on to be acknowledged five decades later with the US Senior Open beginning in 1980, the Senior Players Championship first being held in 1983 and The Tradition starting in 1989.
The last Major to be recognized was the Senior Open Championship in 2003. It took 16 years for it to gain its 'Major' title, though, with the first edition being held in 1987.
Each of these events differ from regular senior events due to the fact they are played across 72-holes, not 54.
What Are The Women's Senior Majors?
There are only two senior women's Major championships on the Legends of the LPGA Tour.
These are; The LPGA Senior Championship - inaugurated in 2017 - and the US Senior Women's Open which first started in 2018.
What Big Names Play On The Men's Senior Tour's?
Some of the sport's biggest stars from the past currently reside on the two men's senior professional golf tours.
The PGA Tour Champions tends to have a more American bias of player stature with the likes of Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and Stewart Cink all competing.
Other greats of the game, including Major champions and Ryder Cup captains also tend to stay in the states - including - John Daly, Corey Pavin and Fred Couples.
There is a considerable crossover between that and the Legends Tour though, mainly with players not of American nationality. And the pedigree of player does not change. The likes of Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Angel Cabrera all switch between the two tours.
European greats such as Miguel Angel Jimenez, Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn and Bernhard Langer also participate on both.
What Big Names Play On The Women's Senior Tour?
The Legends of the LPGA Tour is what it says on the tin. True greats of the women's game combine to play a small, but mixed number of events across America each year.
Two-time Major winner Christie Kerr, Nancy Lopez - who won 48 LPGA events - and six-time Major winner Betsy King all reside on the tour.
Similarly, Annika Sorenstam - who has the third most LPGA wins ever with 72 - and Karrie Webb, who is T7th in the list of most Major wins with seven, have also continued playing competitively.
British stars Catriona Matthew and Dame Laura Davies also compete, with the former winning the 2025 Woodford Legends Invitational alongside partner Becky Morgan.
Although some of golf's biggest past names play on the respective senior tours, some of the sport's current greats have spoken about their unwillingness to play on such circuits after their career has finished.
One man to do so was recent Grand Slam winner, Rory McIlroy. In March 2025, he said: "Absolutely not. I will not play Champions Tour golf.
"Look, I've said a lot of absolutes in my time that I've walked back, but I do not envision playing Champions Tour golf. Something has [gone] terribly wrong if I have to compete at golf at 50."
That seems pretty conclusive, for now... but the Northern Irishman has been known to go back on things he's said in the past, so maybe, just maybe, we might see him playing on a senior tour in the future.
