2024 preview: Stewart Cink's 'rookie' season among top PGA TOUR Champions storylines to follow

PGA TOUR Champions kicks off its 45th year next week in Hawaii with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, the first of 28 events in 2024. The season will culminate in November with the crowning of a Charles Schwab Cup champion in Phoenix.

The 2024 schedule includes 25 regular-season tournaments and three Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs events. During the season, players will compete for more than $67 million in total prize money, the highest in PGA TOUR Champions history. Here are some storylines to watch as the 2024 season unfolds.

Stricker’s encore

Reigning Charles Schwab Cup winner Steve Stricker put together one of the greatest individual seasons in PGA TOUR Champions history in 2023. Heading into his seventh season in 2024, the 56-year-old has 17 wins overall on PGA TOUR Champions (the 17th-most of all time) and seven senior major titles (tied for fourth-most of all time). During his historic run in 2023, Stricker set the single-season records for scoring average (67.54) and money earned ($3,986,063) while matching the single-season record for majors won (three). In all, Stricker tallied six victories in 16 starts and added five runner-up finishes in 2023. How will he follow it up in 2024?

Langer looks to add to his record

World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer enters his 16th full season – and 17th overall – on PGA TOUR Champions as the winningest player in the history of the Tour. Langer owns 46 victories, one more than Hale Irwin, and looks to add No. 47 and beyond in 2024. Langer, who turns 67 on Aug. 27, also holds the record for most senior major titles (12). With his victory at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open, Langer earned an exemption into the 2024 U.S. Open (June 13-16) at Pinehurst Resort, where he will become the oldest player to tee it up in the event’s history. Langer enters 2024 having won in 17 consecutive years on PGA TOUR Champions, including 11 straight multi-win seasons.

Harrington’s Hall of Fame enshrinement

Padraig Harrington, 52, will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on June 10 at Pinehurst Resort ahead of the U.S. Open. Harrington, a six-time winner on PGA TOUR Champions, enters his third full season in 2024. He finished fourth in the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup standings after a two-win campaign. In 2022, Harrington garnered Rookie of the Year honors after a four-win season that included a second-place finish in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Will the Irishman’s third year be the charm as he chases his first Charles Schwab Cup?

Ending a winless drought

Several players look to return to the winner’s circle in 2024 after going winless last season, including four notables who finished in the top 36 of the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup standings:

• Eleven-time winner Jerry Kelly finished No. 8 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings despite not hoisting a trophy in 2023. The 57-year-old collected at least one win in each of his first five seasons from 2017 to 2022.
• Thirteen-time winner Miguel Angel Jimenez finished 10th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings last year. The 60-year-old earned at least one win in each of his first eight seasons from 2014 to 2022.
• Four-time winner Darren Clarke last won at the 2022 Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex after capturing three wins during the 2020-21 season. The 55-year-old finished 24th in the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup standings.
• Two-time winner Retief Goosen finished 26th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. The 54-year-old World Golf Hall of Fame member’s last victory was the 2022 Hoag Classic.

Welcoming the rookies

When eligible professional golfers turn 50 years old, they become rookies yet again. For some players, it’s a chance to add to their legacy as one of the greats of the game. For others, PGA TOUR Champions offers a second chance at golf glory. Here are some of the notable newcomers in 2024:

• Four-time PGA TOUR winner Heath Slocum turns 50 on Feb. 2. His last TOUR win came in 2010 at The RSM Classic.
• Four-time PGA TOUR winner Chad Campbell turns 50 on May 31. A three-time member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team (2004, 2006, 2008), his last TOUR win came at the 2007 Sanderson Farms Championship.
• Four of the five players who earned PGA TOUR Champions cards at Q-School Final Stage in December will be rookies in 2024: Cameron Percy, Michael Wright, Steve Allan and David Bransdon, all of whom are from Australia.
• 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink, who turned 50 on May 21, 2023, made four starts last season, including a third-place finish at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. Cink will still be considered a rookie in 2024 due to only making four starts last year.

What’s new?

With each new season comes changes, such as new events and new courses. Here are some changes that fans will see on PGA TOUR Champions in 2024:

• The lone new event for 2024 on PGA TOUR Champions is the Simmons Bank Championship, which will serve as the second leg of the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, Oct. 25-27. It will be the first-ever PGA TOUR Champions tournament held in Arkansas, as Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock serves as the host.
• The Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona, is moving from Omni Tucson National to a new course this year, as La Paloma Country Club will host the event from March 8-10. Omni Tucson National had hosted each of the first nine playings of the event, dating back to 2015.
• The Principal Charity Classic (May 31-June 2) will remain at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa, but with a new look in 2024. The course is currently undergoing a restoration, overseen by architect Tyler Rae, that will have all new tee boxes, expanded fairways, five rebuilt greens and rebuilt bunkers among other changes before this year’s event.
• The 2024 sites for the three rotating majors are: Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan (KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship), Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island (U.S. Senior Open), and Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland (The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex).