The 1996 Senior PGA Tour was the 17th season of the Senior PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States for men aged 50 and over.

1996 Senior PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 19, 1997 (1997-01-19) – November 10, 1997 (1997-11-10)
Number of official events40
Most winsUnited States Jim Colbert (5)
Money listUnited States Jim Colbert
Player of the YearUnited States Jim Colbert
Rookie of the YearSouth Africa John Bland
1995
1997

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1996 season.[1][2]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)
Winner[a] Notes
Jan 21 Puerto Rico Senior Tournament of Champions Puerto Rico 800,000   John Bland (2)
Feb 4 Royal Caribbean Classic Florida 850,000   Bob Murphy (9)
Feb 11 Greater Naples IntelliNet Challenge Florida 600,000   Al Geiberger (10)
Feb 18 GTE Suncoast Classic Florida 750,000   Jack Nicklaus (9)
Feb 25 American Express Invitational Florida 900,000   Hale Irwin (3) New tournament
Mar 3 FHP Health Care Classic California 800,000   Walter Morgan (2)
Mar 17 Toshiba Senior Classic California 1,000,000   Jim Colbert (14)
Mar 31 SBC Dominion Seniors Texas 650,000   Tom Weiskopf (3)
Apr 7 The Tradition Arizona 1,000,000   Jack Nicklaus (10) Senior PGA Tour major championship
Apr 21 PGA Seniors' Championship Florida 1,100,000   Hale Irwin (4) Senior major championship
Apr 28 Las Vegas Senior Classic Nevada 1,000,000   Jim Colbert (15)
May 5 PaineWebber Invitational North Carolina 800,000   Graham Marsh (2)
May 12 Nationwide Championship Georgia 1,200,000   Jim Colbert (16)
May 19 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic New Jersey 950,000   Bob Murphy (10)
May 26 BellSouth Senior Classic Tennessee 1,200,000   Isao Aoki (5)
Jun 2 Bruno's Memorial Classic Alabama 1,050,000   John Bland (3)
Jun 9 Pittsburgh Senior Classic Pennsylvania 1,100,000   Tom Weiskopf (4)
Jun 16 du Maurier Champions Canada 1,100,000   Charles Coody (5)
Jun 23 Bell Atlantic Classic Pennsylvania 900,000   Dale Douglass (11)
Jun 30 Kroger Senior Classic Ohio 900,000   Isao Aoki (6)
Jul 7 U.S. Senior Open Ohio 1,200,000   Dave Stockton (12) Senior major championship
Jul 14 Ford Senior Players Championship Michigan 1,500,000   Raymond Floyd (13) Senior PGA Tour major championship
Jul 21 Burnet Senior Classic Minnesota 1,250,000   Vicente Fernández (1)
Jul 28 Senior British Open Northern Ireland £350,000   Brian Barnes (2) Senior major championship[b]
Jul 28 Ameritech Senior Open Illinois 1,100,000   Walter Morgan (3)
Aug 4 VFW Senior Championship Missouri 800,000   Dave Eichelberger (2)
Aug 11 First of America Classic Michigan 850,000   Dave Stockton (13)
Aug 18 Northville Long Island Classic New York 800,000   John Bland (4)
Aug 25 Bank of Boston Senior Classic Massachusetts 800,000   Jim Dent (10)
Sep 1 Franklin Quest Championship Utah 800,000   Graham Marsh (3)
Sep 8 Boone Valley Classic Missouri 1,200,000   Gibby Gilbert (5) New tournament
Sep 15 Bank One Classic Kentucky 600,000   Mike Hill (18)
Sep 22 Brickyard Crossing Championship Indiana 750,000   Jimmy Powell (4)
Sep 29 Vantage Championship North Carolina 1,500,000   Jim Colbert (17)
Oct 6 Ralphs Senior Classic California 800,000   Gil Morgan (1)
Oct 13 The Transamerica California 700,000   John Bland (5)
Oct 20 Raley's Gold Rush Classic California 800,000   Jim Colbert (18)
Oct 27 Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic Hawaii 650,000   Bob Charles (25)
Nov 3 Emerald Coast Classic Florida 1,050,000   Lee Trevino (27)
Nov 10 Energizer Senior Tour Championship South Carolina 1,600,000   Jay Sigel (2) Tour Championship

Unofficial events

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The following events were sanctioned by the Senior PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)
Winners Notes
Dec 8 Office Depot Father/Son Challenge Florida 860,000   Raymond Floyd and
son Raymond Floyd Jr.
Team event

Money list

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The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[3]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1   Jim Colbert 1,627,890
2   Hale Irwin 1,615,769
3   John Bland 1,357,987
4   Isao Aoki 1,162,581
5   Dave Stockton 1,117,685

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy)   Jim Colbert [4]
Rookie of the Year   John Bland [4]
Scoring leader (Byron Nelson Award)   Hale Irwin [5]
Comeback Player of the Year   Al Geiberger [4]

Notes

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  1. ^ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of Senior PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Senior PGA Tour members.
  2. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

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  1. ^ "1997 Senior PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "2004 Champions Tour Media Guide | Tournament Chronology" (PDF). PGA Tour. pp. 219–233 (5-21–5-35 in document). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "1996 Money list". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "PGA announces awards". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. January 11, 1997. p. 12 (C3 in paper). Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "1996 Scoring average". PGA Tour. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
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