DES MOINES – The Principal Charity Classic, a three-day event featuring some of the best golfers on the PGA Tour Champions, begins Friday.
Nine former Wakonda Club champions will be competing this year, including the defending champion Jerry Kelly as well as three-time winners Jay Haas. The tee-sheet also features five World Golf Hall of Famers and a number of fan favorites.
Here are the top golfers you should be watching at the Principal Charity Classic in 2023.
Stephen Ames
Ames won the event in 2021, and placed 12th overall in 2022. Ames is fourth in the PGA Tour Champions standings but he’s the third highest-ranked player going into the tournament. Steve Alker will not be competing at Des Moines.
Notah Begay III
Begay is making his first appearance at the Principal Charity Classic. The 50-year old professional is one of only a few Native American golfers who have played on the PGA Tour. He has now returned to the Champions circuit. He is one of the top 100 players in the Schwab cup rankings.
Fred Couples
Former World No. 1 and World Golf Hall of Famer, a former World No. Des Moines will see another appearance by a World Golf Hall of Famer and former World No. Couples, a fixture in professional golf for more than four decades, has placed in the top 10 twice this year — eighth at the Chubb Classic and tenth at the Galleri classic.
Fred Couples reacts to a birdie on the 18th hole during the second round at the 2022 Principal Charity Classic held at Wakonda in Des Moines. (Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images).
Ernie Els
Former World No. With four major titles and over 70 career wins under his belt, Els is a World Golf Hall of Famer. Els, who is currently sixth in the Schwab cup rankings, doesn’t appear to be slowing.
Judd Gibb
This weekend, Iowa golf fans should be rooting for this player. Fort Dodge native, who was a letter-winner at Iowa State for four years and a five time Iowa PGA Player Of The Year.
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Jimenez, a fan favorite since his debut in Des Moines, returns as the fifth best player on the PGA Tour Champions leaderboard. Last year, he finished in the top 35.
Jerry Kelly
Kelly returns to Wakonda as the reigning Principal Charity Classic Champion. Last season, he beat Kirk Triplett by a single stroke in a playoff. He is currently 12th in the PGA Tour Champions leaderboard.
Jerry Kelly on the 18th hole after winning the Principal Charity Classic 2022 at Wakonda Club, Des Moines. Patrick McDermott/Getty Images.
Steve Stricker
Stricker has been on a roll. He is currently ranked No. After a 2023 campaign that included three wins and three runners-up finishes, Stricker is ranked No. Stricker won more than $2 million in this season, including the Mitsubishi Electric Championship and two majors: the Regions Tradition PGA Championship and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
David Toms
Toms comes in at No. 2 behind Stricker. Toms is No. 2 behind Stricker. He has won the Galleri Classic, the Cologuard Classic, and more than $1,000,000 in winnings this season.
Kirk Triplett
Triplett may sit at No. Triplett may be ranked 53rd in the Schwab cup rankings, but that doesn’t mean he should be ignored. He was a top-10 finisher in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, and he finished as the runner up in this event in 2013. Triplett was only separated from a victory by Kelly and the playoff.
The 2023 Principal Charity Classic will feature a full field.
Robert Allenby
Stephen Ames
Billy Andrade
Stuart Appleby
Woody Austin
Notah Begay III
Shane Bertsch
Kris Blanks
Jason Bohn
Paul Broadhurst
Mark Calcavecchia
Alex Cejka
Russ Cochran
Brian Cooper
Fred Couples
Marco Dawson
Glen Day
Chris DiMarco
Ken Duke
Scott Dunlap
Joe Durant
David Duval
Ernie Els
Bob Estes
Steve Flesch
David Frost
Fred Funk
Jim Furyk
Brian Gay
Paul Goydos
Richard Green
Jay Haas
Mark Hensby
Tim Herron
John Huston
Thongchai Jaidee
Lee Janzen
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Robert Karlsson
Jerry Kelly
Rob Labritz
Bernhard Langer
Tom Lehman
Jeff Maggert
Billy Mayfair
Scott McCarron
David McKenzie
Rocco Mediate
Colin Montgomerie
Timothy O’Neal
Rod Pampling
Scott Parel
Tom Pernice Jr.
Kenny Perry
Tim Petrovic
Dicky Pride
Brett Quigley
Fran Quinn
John Senden
Wes Short Jr.
Vijay Singh
Jeff Sluman
Paul Stankowski
Steve Stricker
Kevin Sutherland
Ken Tanigawa
Mario Tiziani
Esteban Toledo
David Toms
Kirk Triplett
Scott Verplank
Duffy Waldorf
Mike Weir
Willie Wood
Y.E. Yang
Wakonda Club, a par 72 golf course will be played 6,851 yards in this week. First place is worth $300,000.
