Oct 24

New Champions Tour Qualifying Plan Stinks

The top 30 players and ties in the national finals will be eligible to compete in weekly professional qualifiers held in conjunction with open, full-field Champions Tour events. Nine spots will be available in those Champions Tour events through the qualifiers. The q-school participants be joined in the qualifier by former PGA TOUR and Champions Tour players who meet pre-determined criteria.

This plan comes directly from the PGA Tour itself. Yahooo!! I can make it through sectional and national qualifying tournaments, only to have to qualify YET AGAIN on a weekly basis. Can someone explain the logic to me? If you can make a substantial case, I’ll write a corrective blog about it down the road.

I’ve always found the Champs Tour to be the most restrictive, least accomodating of the three PGA tours. In the past, only six players earned spots during the National Qualifying Tournament. This latest plan restricts the chances for the club pros and mini-tour players even more, and that shouldn’t be what the tour is all about.

As for me, I turn 41 on Thursday. My plan is a simple one: train for 9 years, then head to Europe to play their version of the Old Farts Tour. After all, where would you rather wake up…Barbados, Jersey, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, or the little towns and cities that host american events? Much as I love this country, I’ll take the egalitarian ways of the E-union. Of course, I have to develop a golf game in the interim, so don’t lay any bets on me just yet.

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6 comments

§ Oliver Sudden said on : 10/25/06 @ 01:05
The Champions Tour has about had it in my view. I'm a very big golf fan and follow all the tours except that one. My feeling is the players make way too much money and they don't deserve it. The way to save it is introduce a cut to get rid of the dead wood and get a qualifying system like the PGA tour. But even then all they have is something akin to minor league baseball.
§ Drew Michaels said on : 10/25/06 @ 07:22
This newest qualifying system developed by the PGA should achieve their objective of eliminating the unknown golfer from making it on the champions tour. I have been a long time supporter of the various tours but this latest manipulation by the powers to be to make sure the old guard gets to play is unbelievable. Why not just hand pick those you think will ring the cash register for the champions tour and leave it at that.
§ Ron Mon® said on : 10/25/06 @ 09:30
Two very astute comments! My former teaching pro is number 28 on the $$$ list...he's a great guy, but perhaps not the "live wire" that the Great and Powerful Oz wants to sell tickets and tv time. Truth of the matter is, club pros need to adjust to the rigors of traveling. I almost think that career amateurs might adjust better, given their travel schedules. As regular PGA tour members make more and more cash at younger ages, fewer will want to play the Senior Tour. Remember how thrilled guys like Don January and Miller Barber were back in the 1980s, to once again be competing for legitimate cash? Those days are gone!!
§ Booger said on : 10/26/06 @ 16:21
Ron Monkey, I am truly pulling for you to
get your game together. Kicking your
ass weekly, while getting paid to hang
out in Europe, would be a dream come true.

Don't let me down!
§ Jim C said on : 10/31/06 @ 22:37
Why not add to the Champion's field?
Let amateur men 25 and up play--and
let any woman compete. It could
become a restricted eligibility Tour
that could pit players from 3 different
groups. That could add to the interest.
§ steve stewart said on : 11/02/06 @ 12:45
RON;This is communism in the good o USA.there are so many good golfers out there that could compete on the senior tour thats its not even funny and they know it.ilike the underdogs but its obvious that the pga doesnt.this is a closed shop and should be challenged. One day someone will and will win.Its so obvious what they are doing.this is not competition its an exhibition plain and simple.If they want real competition open it up and let more club pros in and anyone that is good enough and you would have some great storylines and you would see how many OTHER great golfers there are in this country.o yea how about the foreigneners the just eliminated them.