PGA Tour Champions, Pro Football Hall of Fame partner for golf tournament starting in 2025
CANTON — Legends of golf and football will unite for a new PGA Tour Champions event.
The James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational will debut March 31-April 6, 2025, at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Florida.
The tour and home building products company James Hardie announced the news Tuesday afternoon at the Hall of Fame.
The three-day invitational will feature a field of 78 PGA Tour Champions players and 26 football icons competing for a purse of $2.2 million, according to a news release. It will be televised by Golf Channel.
PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady told the Beacon Journal an agreement had been reached to hold the event at Broken Sound Club for five years.
“And hopefully much longer,” Brady added.
Why new tournament with PGA Tour Champions, Pro Football Hall of Fame is not in the cards for Firestone Country Club
During the news conference, two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer said he has lived in Boca Raton for the last 35 years and is eager to "rub shoulders with" Hall of Famers there.
“I will never play football with them, but I'll be happy to play golf with them," he said. "It'd be too scary for me out in the football arena.
“This should be a lot of fun. There's a lot of excitement. My colleagues are all thrilled about the news, and I know the PGA Tour is. It's going to be a home run right away.”
Brady said there are no plans to eventually use Firestone Country Club for the invitational because the famous Akron site already hosts the Kaulig Companies Championship.
What Brady does envision is Hall of Famers drawing "a different fan base” to a PGA Tour Champions event.
"It just generates greater awareness," he said.
Ronde Barber, John Randle, Anthony Munoz among members of Pro Football Hall of Fame eager to compete in golf
Hall of Famers Ronde Barber, John Randle and Anthony Munoz attended the news conference and expressed enthusiasm about the tournament.
"I think the interest will be high," said Barber, a former five-time Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl cornerback. "There are some competitive guys in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Obviously, they've had very successful careers in the NFL, and that energy has to go somewhere.
"For most of them, it goes to golf. And the ones that put time into it and really try to perfect it, they're really good. [Hall of Fame running back] Marshall Faulk is a really good golfer, so I know who I want to beat — put it that way."
Steph Curry's mission in golf: NBA superstar returns to birthplace of Akron to foster diversity
A former 11-time Pro Bowl offensive left tackle with the Cincinnati Bengals, Munoz said he didn't regularly play golf until he took lessons at age 42.
"What a challenge for someone that's 6-5, 270 [pounds] to get out there and do something completely opposite of what I tried to do on the football field," Munoz said.
Munoz said golf proved to be a great vehicle for his foundation's fundraisers.
And Randall explained golf "became like oxygen" for him after he began playing it frequently as a result of doing charity work in Minnesota, where he made six Pro Bowls as a Vikings defensive tackle before he later earned another Pro Bowl nod with the Seattle Seahawks.
The charitable component of the PGA Tour Champions and Hall of Fame's tournament will benefit Habitat for Humanity International and youth golf program First Tee, James Hardie CEO Aaron Erter said in the news release.
“This will allow us to continue our long-standing support of Habitat’s vision to ensure everyone has a decent place to live,” Erter said, “as well as help kids build the strength of character to weather a lifetime of new challenges through the incredible First Tee life-skills curriculum.”
Peyton Manning will be honored in Akron: Legendary quarterback named Ambassador of Golf for Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Pro Football Hall of Fame, PGA Tour Champions start tournament
