Las Vegas Senior Classic on Champions Tour

The Las Vegas Senior Classic was a professional golf tournament in Nevada that was played from the 1980s into the early 2000s. It was part of the Champions Tour, then called the Senior PGA Tour.

First played: 1986

Last played: 2001

Three golfers won this tournament twice each, and all three did so in back-to-back years: Chi Chi Rodriguez, Jim Colbert and Hale Irwin. Rodriguez's wins in 1990 and 1991 were preceded by a playoff loss in 1989 and a runner-up finish in 1987.

The first champion in 1986 was Bruce Crampton, and this event was one of his seven wins on the Senior Tour that year. Irwin's win in 1997 was one of nine for him that year, tying the Champions Tour record for most wins in a single year.

For all but two years it was 54 holes (three rounds) in duration. (In 1998-99, they played 72 holes.) The lowest, winning 54-hole score was Larry Nelson's 197 in 2000. The Las Vegas Senior Classic 18-hole scoring record was 63, recorded by Jim Colbert during his 1996 victory. The largest margin of victory was seven strokes by Rodriguez in 1991.

Winners of the Las Vegas Senior Classic

1986 — Bruce Crampton, 206
1987 — Al Geiberger, 203
1988 — Larry Mowry, 204
1989 — Charles Coody, 205 (def. Bob Charles, Chi Chi Rodriguez in playoff)
1990 — Chi Chi Rodriguez, 204
1991 — Chi Chi Rodriguez, 200
1992 — Lee Trevino, 206
1993 — Gibby Gilbert, 204
1994 — Raymond Floyd, 203
1995 — Jim Colbert, 205
1996 — Jim Colbert, 207 (def. Bob Charles, Dave Stockton in playoff)
1997 — Hale Irwin, 207
1998 — Hale Irwin, 281
1999 — Vicente Fernandez, 274
2000 — Larry Nelson, 197
2001 — Bruce Fleisher, 208

Also known as: "Las Vegas Senior Classic" was always either the full name of the tournament, or the primary name joined with a title sponsor. The title sponsors whose companies appeared as part of the tournament name were General Tire and TruGreen-ChemLawn.

Golf courses: The tournament took place at several courses in Las Vegas over the years. It was at the Desert Inn Country Club from its debut in 1986 through 1993. From that point until it ended in 2001, the tournament was played at either TPC at Summerlin (seven times) or TPC at The Canyons (three times).

Sources:
PGA Tour. Senior PGA Tour 2002, Official Media Guide.