Ten Australian golfers are set to compete in the first senior major championship of 2025, the Regions Tradition, taking place in Alabama. The presence of Australian players on the PGA TOUR Champions has been increasing over the past three years, yet victories in major tournaments remain scarce.
Steven Alker from New Zealand has secured nine Champions Tour wins, including the 2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. However, among Australians, only Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, and Steve Allan have managed to win on the senior circuit in the U.S. during the last two years. The last time an Australian won a senior major was Stewart Ginn’s victory at the Senior Players Championship in 2002.
This year could see a change as Richard Green came close twice last year as a runner-up in senior majors. Greg Chalmers led into last year’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship while Hensby, Pampling, and Stuart Appleby have all achieved top-three finishes since 2022.
In addition to this event, seven Australians and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox will compete at the US PGA Championship held at Quail Hollow Club. Notable recent major champions Cameron Smith, Jason Day, and Adam Scott will participate alongside emerging talents like Min Woo Lee who recently won his first PGA TOUR event at Houston Open. Karl Vilips and Elvis Smylie are making their debut at this tournament; Vilips having graduated from Stanford University just a year ago already secured his first tour win while Smylie earned his spot through a special exemption as Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner.
Reflecting on past achievements, Colin Swatton emphasized reminding Jason Day of his capabilities: “We need to get back to that winning formula and allow everything else to fall into place.” Meanwhile, Smylie is focused on maintaining energy levels during majors: “I feel like I’ll do a really good job at just not burning myself out too much.”
The tournament features several other golf events worldwide with Australians participating across different tours including Ladies European Tour’s Dutch Ladies Open and Korn Ferry Tour’s AdventHealth Championship among others.
