Looking Back: The Transamerica on Champions Tour

The Transamerica Senior Championship was a professional golf tournament on the Champions Tour, played from the late 1980s into the early 2000s. It was played in California wine country in the latter part of the senior circuit's schedule, typically October.

First played: 1989

Last played: 2002

Tournament names: For its first four years, 1989-1992, the tournament name was Transamerica Senior Golf Championship. From 1993-2001 it was simply called "The Transamerica." And in its final year, 2002, the name was Napa Valley Championship.

Winners of The Transamerica Senior Championship

1989 — Billy Casper, 207
1990 — Lee Trevino, 205
1991 — Charles Coody, 204
1992 — Bob Charles, 200
1993 — Dave Stockton, 203
1994 — Kermit Zarley, 204 (def. Isao Aoki in playoff)
1995 — Lee Trevino, 201
1996 — John Bland, 204
1997 — Dave Eichelberger, 205
1998 — Jim Colbert, 205
1999 — Bruce Fleisher, 199
2000 — Jim Thorpe, 198
2001 — Sammy Rachels, 202
2002 — Tom Kite, 204

The only multiple winner of The Transamerica was Trevino, with victories in 1990 (by two strokes over Mike Hill) and 1995 (by three over Bruce Summerhays). Trevino also finished second twice, in 1991 (two behind Coody) and 1993 (one behind Stockton).

Many of the tournaments were tight. The largest margin of victory was only four strokes, achieved by Dave Eichelberger in 1998 over a quartet of runners-up. In his victory in 1999, Fleisher did not make a single bogey.

The 18-hole scoring record for The Transamerica was 62, scored by John Mahaffey in 2002. Mahaffey's round included a 28 over the front nine, which tied the Champions Tour's then-record for lowest 9-hole score. The 72-hole record was Thorpe's 198 in 2000.

The golf course for the tournament's entire history was Silverado Country Club in Napa Valley, California, a venue familiar to golf fans as it has hosted events on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and LPGA Tour. Two of The Transamerica's champs had previously won PGA Tour events at Silverado: Billy Casper, the first Transamerica winner, also won the 1971 Kaiser International at Silverado; and 1994 champ Kermit Zarley won the Kaiser International in 1968.

Casper won nine times on the Senior Tour, and the last of those was in this tournament. Trevino had 29 career senior victories. His 1990 Transamerica win was the seventh of his rookie senior season; his 1995 victory was the 26th of those 29 wins.

Sources:
New York Times. "Golf Roundup: Kite Wins Napa Valley," Associated Press, October 14, 2002.
PGA Tour. Senior PGA Tour 2002 Official Media Guide, The Transamerica, All-Time Records.