What Is The Legends Tour?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 22 April 2022

Formerly known as the European Seniors Tour and the Staysure Tour, the Legends Tour is the men’s professional golf tour for members aged 50 and older. Five years after the first edition of The Senior Open, won by Neil Coles in 1987, more than 60 professionals called for a formally structured Tour, which was then created in 1992.

The Legends Tour features a strong playing membership that includes former Major winners, world number ones and Ryder Cup players and captains. Players compete for the John Jacobs Trophy, which is awarded to the golfer who finishes first on the Legends Tour Order of Merit each season.

You can get up close and personal with Legends at world-class destinations across Europe, the United States and Africa by getting your Legends Tour 2022 tickets.

Past winners (full list below) include Scotland legends Colin Montgomerie and Sam Torrance, as well as former Masters champion and world number one, Ian Woosnam.

A host of other big names and former DP World Tour champions compete on the Legends Tour, including Thomas Bjørn, Paul McGinley, Paul Lawrie, Michael Campbell, and America’s Tom Lehman.

Who Owns The Legends Tour?

In 2020, the Staysure Tour was rebranded the Legends Tour under a new ownership structure. This was part of a ground-breaking agreement between the European Tour and Staysure founder and group CEO Ryan Howsam.

Under the agreement, Howsam, who founded insurance firm Staysure in 2004, took a majority equity share in the Legends Tour. Howsam, a golf fanatic, also owns and invests in companies in sport, insurance, tech, food and media.

What Is The Alliance Series?

A number of Legends Tour events (see below) will take place in ‘Alliance’ format, which offers amateur golfers (max handicap 18 for men and 24 for women) the opportunity to compete alongside the Legends of the game and live the life of a pro – on and off the golf course.

There are six confirmed Alliance Series events in 2022. At these tournaments, amateur golfers get to play a minimum of two competitive rounds during the Championship, alongside different pros in front of crowds and the television cameras.

It costs between £8,000 and £12,000 to enter a tournament. As well as the playing experience, the package offers inside-the-ropes access at the tournament, hospitality, and use of the players lounge.

What Is The Celebrity Series?

The Celebrity Series provides another unique playing experience, where amateur golfers get to play with personalities from sport, business and media the day before the tournament gets underway. A Celebrity Series team consists of two amateurs, one Legend and one celebrity. The cost is £2,500 per person or £5,000 per team of two amateurs.

It’s a package that comes with all the trimmings, including inside-the-ropes access at the tournament, use of the players lounge and locker room, and post-round hospitality with the Legends.

What Is The Championship Pro-Am?

There’s a third opportunity for amateur golfers to experience the life of a pro golfer within the Legends Tour set-up – the Championship Pro-Am. This takes place ahead of the competitive tournament days, and costs £3,500 per team (three amateurs and one professional). Individual places can be purchased for £1,000.

Legends Tour Schedule 2022

The Legends Tour has returned stronger and boasts an international schedule with tournaments taking place across a variety of different countries and continents. The Tour will come to a conclusion in the exotic climes of the Indian Ocean, with the ‘Indian Ocean Swing’. Firstly, The MCB Tour Championship Seychelles will be played at Constance Lemuria, Praslin, Seychelles, on December 2-4, 2022, while the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius will return to the Legends Course at Constance Belle Mare Plage, Poste de Flacq, Mauritius, the following week where players will compete for a minimum prize fund of €500,000.

A number of other events and venues complement a growing roster of top top-class tournaments on the Legends Tour in 2022, and there’s a lot of golf to be played before the Order of Merit winner gets crowned in Mauritius. And along the way, the players will be competing for record prize funds totalling over €15 million.

6-8 May 2022, Riegler & Partner Legends, Golf Club Murhof, Frohnleiten, Austria

26-29 May 2022, Kitchenaid Senior PGA Championship, Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States

9-12 June 2022, Jersey Legends, La Moye Golf Club, Jersey

17-19 June 2022, Farmfoods European Legends Links Championship hosted by Ian Woosnam, Trevose Golf & Country Club, England

23-26 June 2022, US Senior Open, Saucon Valley Country Club, Bethlehem, United States

8-10 July 2022, Swiss Seniors Open, Golf Club Bad Ragaz, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

15-17 July 2022, WINSTONopen, WINSTONgolf, Vorbeck, Germany

21-24 July 2022, The Senior Open Presented By Rolex, The King's Course, Gleneagles, Scotland

28-31 July 2022, The JCB Championship, JCB Golf & Country Club, Uttoxeter, England

16-20 August 2022, Irish Legends presented by McGinley Foundation, RosapenHotel & Golf Resort, Ireland

24-28 August 2022, Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, Formby Golf Club, England

15-17 September 2022, Legends Open de France hosted by Jean Van de Velde, Golf de Saint-Cloud, Paris, France

14-16 October 2022, Farmfoods European Senior Masters hosted by Peter Baker, La Manga Club, Murcia, Spain

20-23 October 2022, Italian Senior Open, Argentario Golf Resort & Spa, Italy

1-4 December 2022, MCB Tour Championship Seychelles, Constance Lemuria, Seychelles

9-11 December 2022, MCB Tour Championship – Mauritius, Constance Belle Mare Plage, Mauritius

Legends Tour Past Winners

2021, Stephen Dodd, Wales (main picture)
2019, Phillip Price, Wales
2018, Paul Broadhurst, England
2017, Clark Dennis, USA
2016, Paul Broadhurst, England
2015, Colin Montgomerie, Scotland
2014, Colin Montgomerie, Scotland
2013, Paul Wesselingh, England
2012, Roger Chapman, England
2011, Peter Fowler, Australia
2010, Boonchu Ruangkit, Thailand
2009, Sam Torrance, Scotland
2008, Ian Woosnam, Wales
2007, Carl Mason, England
2006, Sam Torrance, Scotland
2005, Sam Torrance, Scotland
2004, Carl Mason, England
2003, Carl Mason, England

2002, Seiji Ebihara, Japan
2001, Ian Stanley, Australia
2000, Noel Ratcliffe, Australia
1999, Tommy Horton, England
1998, Tommy Horton, England
1997, Tommy Horton, England
1996, Tommy Horton, England
1995, Brian Barnes, Scotland
1994, John Morgan, England
1993, Tommy Horton, England
1992, John Fourie, South Africa

To find out more about the Legends Tour, visit legendstour.com

Michael has been with Golf Monthly since 2008. As a multimedia journalist, he has also worked for The Football Association, where he created content to support the men's European Championships, The FA Cup, London 2012, and FA Women's Super League. As content editor at Foremost Golf, Michael worked closely with golf's biggest equipment manufacturers, and has developed an in-depth knowledge of this side of the industry. He's now a regular contributor, covering instruction, equipment and feature content. Michael has interviewed many of the game's biggest stars, including six world number ones, and has attended and reported on many Major Championships and Ryder Cups. He's a member of Formby Golf Club.