How A PGA Tour Champions Player Can Secure A Spot At The Players Championship

There's a golden opportunity for a senior star to claim a place at the next edition of the PGA Tour's flagship event

The Players Championship trophy
A senior golfer has a chance to claim a place in The Players Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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As one of the five senior Majors, there is plenty riding on the outcome of the Kauling Companies Championship.

For example, the winner will claim $525,000 of a $3.5m overall purse as well as crucial points towards the season-long Charles Schwab Cup.

However, another big incentive to lift the trophy is a place at one of the biggest events the game has to offer – The Players Championship.

Ahead of the final round of the 2025 edition, which was formerly known as the Senior Players Championship, Miguel Angel Jiminez, Steven Alker and Michael Wright seemed the most likely to claim the coveted spot at the 2026 TPC Sawgrass event, as they co-led at Ohio’s Firestone Country Club.

After his third round of 66, Jiminez didn’t appear to be letting the distinct possibility of his first appearance in The Players Championship since 2008 interfere with his downtime, saying: “I’m going to go to a nice restaurant, going to have a nice bottle of wine, a beautiful big fat cigar and enjoy myself, whatever happens tomorrow happens.”

Miguel Angel Jiminez takes a shot

Miguel Angel Jiminez was one of three co-leaders prior to the final round

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Even though the winner will be able to look ahead to the prospect of one of the biggest tests of golf next March, where Rory McIlroy will defend his title, he is not obligated to appear. For example, Ernie Els won the 2024 edition, securing his eligibility for the PGA Tour’s flagship event, but he reportedly chose not to compete in the tournament because of golf design business commitments and a commercial shoot.

While whoever lifts the Kauling Companies Championship may also decide against teeing it up at TPC Sawgrass, simply having the option of taking on the world’s best surely makes it one of the biggest incentives available at any of the senior Majors.

Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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