Cinderella Story

[conkanen]

I'd like to see 5-6 guys go from college right to the tour. New blood is good for the game. Golf is great because you can still compete when your over 40, but they shouldn't be rigging the game to help out the Mayfairs, Janzens, Duvals, Elkingtons.

Elkington has 10 wins on tour including a major. Just sayin.

College guys? Let them struggle on the mini tours for a while or the Nationwide tour if they are fortunate enough. This is what
I love about the game. You earn everything you get.
What's next? The top High Schooler in each state gets his card? You guys and "drawing your fans" arguments. Great golfers draw fans
and those guys can't be stopped with or without "free rides".

 

[ekennedy]

I have two words for you...

Guy Boros.

That's reason enough to let college guys in and quit protecting the veterans.

He's also a great reminder to eat more salad.

 

[ms1170]

If Guy Boros starts eating salad, I doubt there will be any left for the rest of us.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Elkington has 10 wins on tour including a major. Just sayin.

College guys? Let them struggle on the mini tours for a while or the Nationwide tour if they are fortunate enough. This is what
I love about the game. You earn everything you get.
What's next? The top High Schooler in each state gets his card? You guys and "drawing your fans" arguments. Great golfers draw fans
and those guys can't be stopped with or without "free rides".

So you'd rather watch an aging Tim Herron or an Elkington past his prime than the newest crop of young talent? I say they did earn it by becoming the best amateurs in the world. This kind of attitude will make the US continue to fall back as young foreigners like McIlroy and Mannaserro will start to dominate and while ours stay in college and then "struggle" on mini tours. Our drawing fans argument is just as annoying to you as your "let em earn it" is to me. Only you say it's a free ride. The Tour could give the best high schooler a card if they thought it was best for the tour.

It's like making Andrew Luck go qualify to play in the NFL at some skills test and he's sick that week so now he has to sit out a year. It's ridiculous. The Tour is run by guys who have their own interests in mind and want to make it as hard as possible for turnover.

 

[Jared Willerson]

They shouldn't just hand them cards. But IMO, being a first team all American should come with the perk of say....12 PGA Tour starts if they decide to turn pro.

 

[ekennedy]

How closed a shop is it? One of my former students got his Tour card this year (through the Nationwide Tour AND Q-School...an amazing feat) and has made 4 of 5 cuts including a top 20. Couldn't get into the Hope, the Honda, Bay Hill, Phoenix or Transitions. He's entered into Houston next week and was fortunate to get a Sponsor Exemption into the Heritage.

That gets you into mid-April before you HOPE to get a regular schedule for a while...between invitationals and WGC events, where some of those events have guaranteed money and no cut. Not to mention that IF you keep your card (which is a big if) you HOPE to get into the events you missed the year before where you will finally see the course for the first time. Some guys have to decided by July or August whether or not to drop back to the Nationwide Tour and try to requalify for the following year.

Trust me, it's not as democratic as it sounds. And for those of you Walter Middy's out there holding out for the Senior Tour...don't hold your breath. They're qualifying school graduates have almost no status and get to travel the country trying to Monday qualify for each event.

 

[conkanen]

So you'd rather watch an aging Tim Herron or an Elkington past his prime than the newest crop of young talent? I say they did earn it by becoming the best amateurs in the world. This kind of attitude will make the US continue to fall back as young foreigners like McIlroy and Mannaserro will start to dominate and while ours stay in college and then "struggle" on mini tours. Our drawing fans argument is just as annoying to you as your "let em earn it" is to me. Only you say it's a free ride. The Tour could give the best high schooler a card if they thought it was best for the tour.

It's like making Andrew Luck go qualify to play in the NFL at some skills test and he's sick that week so now he has to sit out a year. It's ridiculous. The Tour is run by guys who have their own interests in mind and want to make it as hard as possible for turnover.

College guys have earned nothing imo. For every Phil Mickelson there is a Matt Hill who has got a job to break par on the mini tours now. He won 6 times and earned the Jack Nicklaus award just a couple years ago. I like Jared's idea. Give them some exemptions to some
tourneys and see what happens. Giving them a card outright is lunacy imo and we'll agree to disagree on that one.

 

[btp]

The over 50 crowd the plays in 2-10 events that get to double dip take away spots from the young talent.

 

[Jared Willerson]

I agree unless it's the majors. The over 50 crowd should stick to their tour. Not alot you can do about lifetime exempted though.

 

[conkanen]

This kind of attitude will make the US continue to fall back as young foreigners like McIlroy and Mannaserro will start to dominate and while ours stay in college and then "struggle" on mini tours.

I think Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley may have a thing or two to say about this. Suddenly this version of the U.S. Ryder Cup team
just got a whole lot better pretty quickly.

 

[cwdlaw223]

The tour will get sued over this one and rightfully so. We could solve more crime by getting rid of the Fifth Amendment just as the tour can better protect itself by colluding. Businesses get nailed all of the time for colluding just as the tour should in this instance.

 

[ms1170]

I'd like to see the 125 exempt number reduced to 90-100 and then have monday qualifying for 20-25 spots. Then give the top 20 from each event an exemption into next weeks tournament. It would be hard to keep a hot Cantlay or Uihlein off the tour this way. Also, it is unfair that the guys finishing outside the top 125 get to go right to the Q-school finals. They should have to do all 3 stages like the rest of the guys.

 

[mgranato]

How 'bout a draft?

After the qualifiers from both tours are set based on the new format, let the title sponsors for each event draft a player that didn't make the list. They get one pick, that player gets a minimum of 15 starts to make their money, and sports the sponsor's logo somewhere on their shirt (for free).

This would inject new blood into the pool as most picks would hopefully be younger talent. It would create extra attention for the sponsors, which is why they are sponsoring in the first place. It would also put Cinderella back on the guest list.

It would not cost the sponsors a dime. The draft order would be determined by the lowest World Golf Rankings for the field to the highest.

Crazy?

 

[ekennedy]

Here's another idea...

Let's get 12 players from the Nationwide Tour and 12 players from the PGA Tour, selected by a lottery, and have a televised match to the death.

 

[Steve Greffen]

Rant #2- Bubba Watson, you are a fabulous player and one of the most talented golfers in the world...

That being said, could you please, please, please take responsibility for ONE bad shot or putt you've ever hit.

They don't all hit spike marks, catch a gust of wind or have a gallery member talk in your backswing.

Sometimes its just you.

Or sometimes it's guys that walk in front of you, like veterans for instance...

 

[Steve Greffen]

I played with him two years in a row at the Nationwide stop in Pittsburgh. The first year short game was poor and there was a ton of curve on the ball. The next year several areas of his game had been tightened up so I would expect that trend to continue. Besides that, he's very nice and respectful of his opportunities. I wish him the best but understand the animosity. It was like Patrick Burke said "I had a nightmare that Nicklaus had 144 kids and nobody could get into Doral".

I used to work at a club that Patrick Burke played and practiced at (not too much practice really!) and he had a stool he'd sit in in the golf shop and share great one liners like this all day with us. Funny guy. Was not a big supporter of the PGA policy board. Always wished he'd get a shot at commentating, would keep it real.