These are the 22 golfers who won their PGA Tour Champions debut

Two-time major champion and 12-time PGA Tour winner Zach Johnson has joined an exclusive group.

Johnson won the 2026 James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Florida, to claim a PGA Tour Champions title in his debut event on the circuit. He’s the first in two years to do so.

Zach Johnson plays a shot on the first hole during the second round of the 2026 James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound.

Winners of PGA Tour Champions events in debut tournament

Don January

1980 Atlantic City International

In the first tournament in Champions tour history (it was called the Senior PGA Tour back then), Don January took home the title and a first-place check good for $20,000. January finished 2nd and 3rd in his other senior events in 1980 but will always be remembered for winning the first tournament in Champions Tour history.

Roberto De Vicenzo

1980 U.S. Senior Open

The USGA first held the U.S. Senior Open in 1980 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. Golfers were required to be a minimum of age 55, which was the standard for senior amateur championships at the time. Roberto De Vicenzo battled the flu the week before, but at Winged Foot he shot a final-round 70 to finish with a 1-over 285 total, a four-stroke win over Bill Campbell. The next year, the USGA lowered the age to 50, opening the door for a 51-year-old Arnold Palmer to win the U.S. Senior Open.

Arnold Palmer

1980 PGA Seniors’ Championship

In December, Arnold Palmer won the PGA Seniors’ Championship in Miami, the fourth and final event on the senior tour’s inaugural season in 1980.

Rod Funseth

1983 Hall of Fame Tournament

Rod Funseth won the one and only Hall of Fame Tournament, which was held at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1983. He won by nine strokes.

Gary Player

Gary Player at the1965 U.S. Open. Photo by Associated Press

1985 Quadel Seniors Classic

The week before Thanksgiving 1985, Gary Player won his first time out on the senior tour. It was the final year of a three-run for the tournament in Boca Raton, Florida.

George Archer

George Archer smiles after winning the 1969 Masters Tournament. AP photo

1989 Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic

It came down to a playoff in Abiline, Texas, with George Archer facing off against Orville Moody and Jimmy Powell. On the second playoff hole, a the par-3 16th, Moody and Powell both rinsed their golf balls in a lake and all Archer needed was par to win the event.

Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus at the 1991 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Photo by Associated Press

1990 Regions Tradition

Jack Nicklaus won the second Tradition, which was held at Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale from 1989 through 2001, in his first tournament on the senior tour. He won it again in 1991 and then went back-to-back a second time in 1995 and ’96.

Bruce Fleisher

1999 Royal Caribbean Classic

Former Miami club pro Bruce Fleisher won the 1999 season opener at Royal Caribbean Classic in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Lanny Wadkins

Lanny Wadkins in 1988. Photo by Peter Southwick/Associated Press

2000 Chubb Classic

Lanny Wadkins held off José Maria Cañizares, Walter Hall and Tom Watson in a four-man playoff to win his debut.

Bobby Wadkins

2001 Lightpath Long Island Classic

Bobby Wadkins never won on the PGA Tour but has four senior titles. His Long Island Classic tournament win came at the age of 50 years and 10 days, tying him with Mark Wiebe for the youngest golfers to win on the PGA Tour Champions.

Mark McNulty

2004 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am

Still recovering from the effects of the shingles, McNulty won at TPC of Tampa Bay by a shot, holding off the crowd favorite Fuzzy Zoeller.

Mark Wiebe

2007 SAS Championship

Playing on a sponsor exemption, Wiebe tied Bobby Wadkins mark for youngest (50 years, 10 days) to win on the tour. Prior to this victory, Wiebe’s last win came in the 1986 Hardee’s Golf Classic.

Tom Lehman

2009 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf

Lehman won the title in this team event where he partnered with Bernhard Langer. Lehman had turned 50 just a month before this event.

Michael Allen

2009 Senior PGA Championship

Allen played almost 20 years on the PGA Tour but never could find the winner’s circle there. In his first senior event, he found pay dirt. He also became the fourth golfer to win a major in his PGA Tour Champions debut.

Tom Pernice, Jr.

2009 SAS Championship

A 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole secured a one-shot victory for Tom Pernice, Jr., over Nick Price and David Frost. Pernice became the third first-timer to win on the senior tour in 2009.

Rocco Mediate

2013 Allianz Championship

Rocco Mediate shot a second-round 61 and then drained a long birdie putt on the final hole to claim his first senior tour event by one shot over Tom Pernice, Jr.

Jeff Maggert

2014 Rapiscan Systems Classic

The tournament was known as the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic at the time Maggert won it. The victory made him the seventh golfer to claim wins on the now-Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.

Miguel Angel Jimenez

2014 Mitsubishi Electric Classic

This is the first of nine wins for Jimenez since joining the over-50 crowd. He also notably has one win in all seven of his seasons on the Champions tour.

Jim Furyk

2020 The Ally Challenge

Jim Furyk posted a smooth-as-silk 68 to win his Champions debut. It was his first win on any tour in five years.

Phil Mickelson

2020 Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National

Phil Mickelson put the over-50-set of golfers on notice that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with, should he decide to play on PGA Tour Champions. Mickelson posted 5-under 66 in the final round to go wire-to-wire and win the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National by four strokes over Tim Petrovic.

Richard Bland

2024 Senior PGA Championship

Bland, a member of LIV Golf who was in the field on a special exemption from the PGA of America, shot a final-round best 8-under 63 at the par-71, 6,744-yard Jack Nicklaus designed course by Lake Michigan to capture the senior major by three strokes.

Zach Johnson

2026 James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational

Johnson shot 66-69 over the weekend to finish at 11 under and win by four shots in his Champions debut.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 22 PGA Tour Champions golfers who won their debut on the tour

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