It was played in late January/early February in Key Biscayne, Florida at the Crandon Park Golf Club (1997–2004) and at The Links at Key Biscayne (1987–1996).
It was played using the tradition stroke play format except in 2000 and 2001 when it used the Modified Stableford scoring system.
The tournament was founded in 1987 as the Gus Machado Senior Classic.
At the 1998 Royal Caribbean Classic, David Graham defeated Dave Stockton on the tenth hole of a sudden-death playoff.
[1] It was the longest sudden-death playoff in Champions Tour history.