Former major winner Ernie Els is set to host groundbreaking new PGA Tour Champions event in Portugal that has a jaw-dropping $3m prize purse

In a groundbreaking new announcement,  four-time major champion Ernie Els is set to host a brand new PGA Tour  Champions event, The Portugal Invitational, in 2026.

The  tournament will mark the first time a PGA Tour-sanctioned individual  stroke play event will be hosted in the European country, and will  arrive at the South African’s newly refurbished Els Club during the week  of July 27.

The Els Club, which is  located in Vilamoura, is set to welcome a field of 78 players, including  World Golf Hall of Fame stars and PGA Champions Tour members. Through  the Tour’s strategic alliance with the DP World Tour, members from the  Legends Tour will also be invited to participate.

They will all compete for a  jaw-dropping prize purse of £2.23million ($3m) across this stunning  track, with golfing legends Bernhard Langer and Miguel Ángel Jimenez  both speaking of their excitement at the news.

All  three rounds of the event will be televised on the GOLF Channel, with  the Portugal Invitational set to be sandwiched between the ISPS Handa  Senior Open and the Staysure Senior PGA Championship on the Legends Tour, culminating in what is set to be a simply outstanding showing of golf in Europe.

The  PGA Tour Champions, Arrow Global Group and Turismo de Portugal de  Algarve have joined forces to bring this event to European shores, with  the group announcing a five-year strategic partnership to host Tour  Champions events in Portugal.