Playoffs are coming to the Champions Tour, with the 50-plus circuit announcing its 2016 schedule on Wednesday, which concludes with a three-event series to determine a season-long champion.
The Charles Schwab Cup playoffs field will be determined by a points system based off of money earned in the first 23 events, with each dollar earned converting to a point. Players will earn two points for each dollar earned in playoff events.
The series will begin with the new Powershares QQQ Championship, a 72-player event with a $2 million purse to be played in the Los Angeles area. From there, 18 players will be eliminated to set the field for the $2 million Dominion Charity Classic, to be played at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond. The Charles Schwab Cup Championship will remain the season-ending event on the schedule, with the top 36 players in the points standings after the Virginia event making the field. The points standings will be reset for the finale, with the top five players given a chance to win the season-long race if they win the Schwab Cup Championship.
The playoff series is part of a 26-event 2016 docket, offering $55 million in prize money. In addition to the playoffs, there are some other tweaks of note to the schedule:
- The SAS Championship, the final event before the playoffs, will offer a wild-card opportunity for an extra player to make the playoffs. If a player outside the top 72 in points posts a top-10 finish, they'll make the playoffs
- The season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii will have a Saturday finish
- A new event, the American Family Insurance Championship, hosted by Steve Stricker, will be played in Madison, Wis., from June 24-26
- The Dick’s Sporting Goods Open is moving up from August to early July to clear the way for the Rio Olympics and the Olympic golf tournaments
- The China-based Pacific Links China Championship returns are being postponed in 2015
- Mitsubishi Electric is the new title sponsor of the erstwhile Greater Gwinett Classic
Here's the full 2016 Champions Tour schedule:
Jan. 21-23 -- Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Hualalai GC, Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii
Feb. 5-7 -- Allianz Championship, The Old Course at Broken Sound Club, Boca Raton, Fla.
Feb. 12-14 -- ACE Group Classic, The TwinEagles Club (Talon Course), Naples, Fla.
March 18-20 -- Tucson Conquistadores Classic, Omni Tucson National (Catalina Course), Tucson, Ariz.
April 1-3 -- Mississippi Gulf Resort Championship, Fallen Oak, Biloxi, Miss.
April 15-17 -- Mitsubishi Electric Classic, TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth, Ga.
April 22-24 -- Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge, Top of the Rock and Buffalo Ridge Springs Course, Ridgedale, Mo.
May 6-8 -- Insperity Invitational, The Woodlands Country Club (Tournament Course), The Woodlands, Texas
May 19-22 -- Regions Tradition, Greystone Golf & Country Club, Birmingham, Ala.
May 26-29 -- Senior PGA Championship, Harbor Shores, Benton Harbor, Mich.
June 3-5 -- Principal Charity Classic, Wakonda Club, Des Moines, Iowa
June 9-12 -- Constellation Senior Players Championship, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Philadelphia
June 24-26 -- American Family Insurance Championship, University Ridge Golf Course, Madison, Wis.
July 8-10 -- Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, En-Joie Golf Club, Endicott, N.Y.
July 21-24 -- Senior Open Championship, Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland
Aug. 5-7 -- 3M Championship, TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minn.
Aug. 11-14 -- U.S. Senior Open, Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio
Aug. 26-28 -- Boeing Classic, TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, Snoqualmie, Wash.
Sept. 2-4 -- Shaw Charity Classic, Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club, Calgary, Alberta
Sept. 16-18 -- Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course, Pebble Beach, Calif.
Sept. 23-25 -- Pacific Links China Championship, 27 Club, Tianjin, China
Oct. 7-9 -- Toshiba Classic, Newport Beach (Calif.) Golf Club
Oct. 14-16 -- SAS Championship, Prestonwood Country Club, Cary, N.C.
Oct. 27-30 -- PowerShares QQQ Championship, courses TBA, Los Angeles
Nov. 3-6 -- Dominion Charity Classic, Country Club of Virginia (Jones River Course), Richmond, Va.
Nov. 10-13 -- Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Desert Mountain Club (Cochise Course), Scottsdale, Ariz.
