Host to the US Open in 1964, 1997 and 2011, Congressional was chosen by the PGA of America to host eight championships across two decades, the first being the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship won by In Gee Chun.

A week after Michael Wright’s eighth-place finish led the Aussie contingent at the Regions Tradition, Brendan Jones, Scott Hend, Andre Stolz and Wisconsin-based PGA Professional Mick Smith, who qualified for a second consecutive Senior PGA Championship by finishing tied for 13th at the 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship.

A 15-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour and a PGA TOUR Champions rookie in 2025, this week represents a senior major championship debut for Jones.

He has made five starts on the Champions Tour this season to date, his best finish a tie for 19th at the Hoag Classic.

Battling injury and illness playing on the Asian Tour last year, Jones saw an opportunity to join the seniors circuit in the US that he hadn’t seriously contemplated previously.

“I was injured, I was sick, and then you get to 50 and go, well, this is too hard, going to some of these countries that I’m going to,” conceded Jones, who earned his Champions Tour card at Qualifying School late last year.

“The Japan Seniors is always a fallback for me, but I just thought now’s the time to do something that I probably didn’t see myself doing.

“It’s exciting again. Getting beat up by those young kids on tour, it’s not a lot of fun when you’ve been one of those guys beating up on the young kids.

“Back when I was playing my best golf, every tournament that I turned up to, I felt that I was going to be competitive and I just haven’t had that feeling the last year or so.

“I’m going to be playing with the guys that I watched on TV growing up, which is going to be pretty cool.”

As the reigning PGA Legends Tour Order of Merit winner, Andre Stolz

Details

Senior PGA Championship
Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland
Past champion: Richard Bland
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1984)
Prize money: $US3.5m
TV times: Live 3am-6am Friday on Fox Sports 505; Live 3:15am-6am Saturday on Fox Sports 506; Live 5am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.

Australasians in the field

Steven Alker (NZ)
Previous appearances: 2 (2022-2023)
Best finish: 1st (2022)
Last start: T5 in 2023
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 9

Best finish in a senior major: Won, 2022 Senior PGA

Robert Allenby

Previous appearances: 1 (2022)
Best finish: MC (2022)
Last start: MC in 2022
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0

Best finish in a senior major: 62nd, 2022 Regions Tradition

Stuart Appleby
Previous appearances: 3 (2022-2024)
Best finish: T14 (2024)
Last start: T14 in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0

Best finish in a senior major: T3, 2022 Regions Tradition

David Bransdon
Previous appearances: 1 (2024)
Best finish: MC (2024)
Last start: MC in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0

Best finish in a senior major: T38, 2025 Regions Tradition

Michael Campbell (NZ)

Previous appearances: 3 (2019, 2022-2023)
Best finish: T55 (2022)
Last start: MC in 2023
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0

Best finish in a senior major: T41, 2023 Senior Open

Richard Green
Previous appearances: 3 (2022-2024)
Best finish: 2nd (2024)
Last start: 2nd in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0

Best finish in a senior major: 2nd, 2024 Senior PGA and 2024 Senior Open

Scott Hend

Previous appearances: 1 (2024)
Best finish: T4 (2024)
Last start: T4 in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0

Best finish in a senior major: T4, 2024 Senior PGA

Mark Hensby
Previous appearances: 3 (2022-2024)
Best finish: T8 (2022)
Last start: T67 in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 1

Best finish in a senior major: 3rd, 2022 US Senior Open

Brendan Jones

Previous appearances: 0
Best finish: N/A
Last start: N/A
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0

Best finish in a senior major: First start

Rod Pampling
Previous appearances: 4 (2021-2024)
Best finish: T20 (2021)
Last start: MC in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 2
Best finish in a senior major: T3, 2022 Regions Tradition

Cameron Percy
Previous appearances: 1 (2024)
Best finish: T21 (2024)
Last start: T21 in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0
Best finish in a senior major: T11, 2024 Kaulig Companies Championship

Mick Smith
Previous appearances: 1 (2024)
Best finish: T75 (2024)
Last start: T75 in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0
Best finish in a senior major: T75, 2024 Senior PGA

Andre Stolz
Previous appearances: 1 (2023)
Best finish: MC (2023)
Last start: MC in 2023
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0
Best finish in a senior major: MC, 2023 Senior PGA

Michael Wright
Previous appearances: 1 (2024)
Best finish: T17 (2024)
Last start: T17 in 2024
PGA TOUR Champions wins: 0
Best finish in a senior major: T7, 2024 Kaulig Companies Championship