WHAT : First of three tournaments that make up the Schwab Cup playoffs . WHEN : Oct . 17-23 WHERE : Country Club of Virginia James River Course designed by William Flynn with a renovation by Lester George in 2003 . FIELD / PURSE : 72 players ; 54 holes no cut ; 54 players advance to second playoff event ; $ 2.2 million purse ($ 200,000 increase ). PAST CHAMPIONS : 2016 : Scott McCarron in a playoff ; 2017 : Bernhard Langer by one stroke ; 2018 : Woody Austin by one stroke ; 2019 : Miguel Angel Jimenez by two strokes ; 2020 : Phil Mickelson by three strokes ; 2021 : Bernhard Langer , in a playoff .
DECC executive director Steve Schoenfeld says he isn ’ t expecting any restrictions for this year ’ s tournament after dealing with COVID related protocols the past two years .
“ We are ahead of last year ’ s pace with regard to corporate sponsorship support and volunteer registrations so with this continued outstanding response from the community we have high expectations this year ’ s event will be our best yet .”
The 72-player field could be the best yet , too .
“ It ’ s always exciting for us to see members of the newest “ rookie class ” qualify for our event . As the guys turn 50 I think they see it as an opportunity for a fresh start on a tour where they are competing with their contemporaries ,” Schoenfeld said .
Two of those rookies are Padraig Harrington and Justin Leonard . Both won majors on the PGA Tour , and Harrington is the reigning U . S Senior Open champion .
Padraig Harrington
Steven Alker is near the top of the PGA Tour Champions rankings in just about every statistical category .
“ It ’ s all been very whirlwind , exciting . That whole playoff series set me up for what I did those last two weeks , and I just carried it on into [ this ] year which is kind of hard to do because you never know what you are going to have going out ,” Alker said in a July interview .
“ All the attention is great . The Champions Tour is all about the players and the stories and just being a more relaxed Tour and players being available to the fans . People have started taking notice of what I ’ ve been doing . Attention is nice , but at the same time , I ’ m a private person . I ’ m not a huge social media guy . It ’ s a little difficult at the same time .
“ People are more aware of who I am and what I ’ m doing . People pay more attention because it isn ’ t Bernhard Langer or Fred Couples or one of the big names .”
Alker ’ s story is that of an underdog . He has told it many times during his first year as a member of the PGA Tour Champions . He turned 50 in late July 2021 and qualified for the Boeing Classic in Seattle in mid-August . He completed his first season a couple months ago .
“ When he came over ( to Senior circuit ), he was ready to play . He ’ s just grown in confidence . He ’ s really a player . One of the story lines that you find out here on the Champions Tour is you get guys that are ready to come and they deliver . He ’ s done that .”
— Tour legend Ernie Els
USGA ( 3 )