PGA Tour players can compete for decades, playing professional golf tournaments from as early as their late teens all the way into their late 50s or even early 60s.
For some players, a decades-long career also comes with a tremendously packed schedule that includes lots of starts every year. These players truly love the grind of professional golf and everything that comes with life on the road.
The PGA Tour record for the most tournaments played in a career is 803, which belongs to Mark Brooks. Brooks, who won the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla, won seven times in his PGA Tour career. He won three times in the 1996 campaign, his best as a pro.
All told, Brooks made 803 total PGA Tour starts, but he doesn't hold the PGA Tour record for the most cuts made in a career. Brooks made the cut in 430 of his 803 PGA Tour starts, making the money a little bit more than half the time. He made $9.45 million in his PGA Tour career.
Brooks didn't stop there. After turning 50 he joined PGA Tour Champions and kept on playing. He's not done yet! He's made 193 career PGA Tour Champions starts, where there is no cut for almost every tournament on the schedule.
Throw in 28 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, and Brooks has played in more than 1,000 events under the PGA Tour umbrella.
The player who has competed in the second-highest number of PGA Tour events is Jay Haas, who played in 798 career PGA Tour events.
While players like Charley Hoffman and Stewart Cink have drawn attention for surpassing 500 PGA Tour starts in their career in 2024, these players are a long way behind Mark Brooks and Jay Haas in terms of total events played on the PGA Tour. Still, their longevity should be commended for staying active and relevant in one of the most difficult sports in the world.
