The Senior PLAYERS Championship is leaving Akron after 2026 for Newport Beach, where Hoag takes over as title sponsor through 2031.
The Senior PLAYERS Championship is getting a California makeover, and PGA TOUR Champions just dropped one of its biggest schedule shakeups in years.
Beginning in 2027, the event will become the Hoag SENIOR PLAYERS Championship at Newport Beach, with Newport Beach Country Club taking over as host.
The five-year deal runs through 2031 and moves one of senior golf’s five majors to a course already deeply tied to PGA TOUR Champions.
The 2027 tournament is scheduled for March 22-28, giving Orange County a bigger golf spotlight and giving the Champions Tour a proven coastal venue along Pacific Coast Highway.
Newport Beach Country Club isn’t new to this stage.
It has hosted the Hoag Classic since 1996, making it the longest-running host course on PGA TOUR Champions.
Designed by William Bell in 1953, the course has built a strong reputation for scenery, shot-making and big-name winners.
The Senior PLAYERS isn’t just another event.
Launched in 1983, it has been won by 13 World Golf Hall of Fame members, including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els.
That’s serious golf royalty.
The move also marks a major change for Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, which has hosted the championship since 2019.
The 2026 edition, played as the Kaulig Companies Championship, will be held July 9-12 before the tournament heads west.
PGA TOUR Champions President Miller Brady praised the move, saying, “We are thrilled to usher in this new era of the SENIOR PLAYERS Championship with our longtime partners Hoag and Newport Beach Country Club.”
Hoag’s connection to the tournament makes the transition feel less like a gamble and more like a power play.
Hoag became title sponsor of Newport Beach’s Champions Tour event in 2018, and since then, winners have included Els, Goosen, Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink.
Andrew Guarni, Hoag’s executive vice president and CFO, said the sponsorship will help “showcase Orange County on a global stage.”
There’s also a major charity angle. The Hoag Classic has generated more than $25 million for Hoag programs, educational causes and military charities.
So yes, the Senior PLAYERS is leaving Ohio.
But it’s landing somewhere with history, money, scenery and serious Champions Tour credibility.
