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By Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- An event for seniors before there was even a Senior Tour, the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf celebrates an important birthday this year.

Thirty years ago, when NBC televised the very first Legends of Golf tournament held at the Onion Creek Country Club, little did anyone know it would soon lead to a Tour for the older-than-50 set.

Both the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf and the Champions Tour are much more competitive than nostalgic these days, says Hale Irwin. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

A team affair until 2002, the inaugural Legends event featured a dozen pairs, including Sam Snead, Roberto De Vincenzo, Gene Sarazen and Jimmy Demaret, competing in Austin, Texas. Then 65-year-old "Slammin' Sammy" Snead and partner Gardner Dickinson won the first tournament held on April 28-30, 1978.

A year later, the older golfers, many of whom were still competitive on the PGA TOUR, were back in Texas for the second Legends event. Same time, same team format, same location, but this time 16 teams took part.

The made-for-prime-time event that was again aired on NBC was captivating television fare as Roberto De Vicenzo and Julius Boros made birdies on the final two holes to force a playoff with Tommy Bolt and Art Wall. Six holes and some good-natured teasing between De Vincenzo and Bolt later, the Argentine and his partner emerged victorious in 1979.

One day later, the Champions Tour was born.

A new decade, a new tour. As the world ushered in the 1980s, the PGA TOUR Tournament Policy Board officially approved the Senior Tour, as it was then called, in late January.

Hale Irwin, who leads the list in Champions Tour wins, has played on the Tour for almost a dozen years and has seen it grow even from his start in the mid-1990s to 2007.

When he came out, stars like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino were slowly finishing their careers. Today, Palmer and Nicklaus are gone but that doesn't mean the Tour is suffering. In fact, Irwin pointed to increased prize money, a strong sponsor group and high caliber players as part of the positive evolution over the years.

"From a standpoint of competitiveness, it's more competitive now. It's not a parade of yesterday's stars like in the beginning," said Irwin. "There are future players coming out here that have good resumes. The stars are not going to play forever, nor are any of us. We all hitched our wagons to those stars but now we have to create new stars and new wagons are being hitched."

With the growth of the Champions Tour, the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf has evolved too. In 1980, the same year the Champions Tour began, the Legends of Golf, then an unofficial event, got a boost when Liberty Mutual came onboard. They've sponsored the event ever since, making them the Tour's longest running title sponsor.

Over the years, the field and purse sizes increased significantly. An individual stroke-play format was added in 2002 and those competing individually could earn official money on the Champions Tour.

The tournament is now held at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa in Savannah, Ga., and consists of three divisions: Legends, Raphael and Demaret.

The Legends division is a 54-hole competition ending on Sunday for pros 50 and older, with each player earning official Champions Tour money. Jay Haas, the current Charles Schwab Cup points leader, will defend his title against a strong field.

There also are two 36-hole, two-man better-ball formats established for the Tour's ever-competitive aging stars.

The Raphael Division is for ages 50-69 and the Demaret Division for players 70 and older, both offering unofficial money. The Raphael Division group plays Friday and Saturday, while the Demaret Division concluded on Tuesday. Butch Baird and Bobby Nichols teamed to win the Demaret competition this year.

While the event is old, the course location is relatively new, with the Westin Savannah Golf Resort hosting the tournament for five years now. Irwin said, though, that players are learning how to play the course effectively to win.

"The personality of this course really doesn't change a lot, other than with weather," he said. "As each year goes, players know it more and more and play it more comfortably."

The leaderboard for both the Legends Division and Raphael Division is still dotted with World Golf Hall of Fame members and PGA TOUR legends, just as all Champions Tour leaderboards have been. Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller and Tony Jacklin are competing in team competition in 2007, while Irwin, Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite, Nick Price, Curtis Strange, Hubert Green and Larry Nelson are a few of the bigger names in the Legends Division.

Especially in this event, which showcases even the eldest players, the history and heritage of the Champions Tour is preserved. That's all fine and good, says Irwin, but don't get too caught up in the past.

"I think the future is even better," he said. "I think the players coming out or that could come out [in the next few years] make that scenario even better. The trick would be to get them out here. Because of the success they've enjoyed [on the PGA TOUR] they won't be as financially motivated but they have competitiveness and heart and they will still love to compete.

"With a different look of players over next four years or so, it will be a pretty dramatic change but I see nothing but good things ahead of us."

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