Kim denied 2011 European Tour card
25-year-old American golfer Anthony Kim was denied a 2011 European Tour card on the basis that he did not play the minimum of 12 tournaments on the tour that would make him eligible next year for the card.
Kim after a promising start to the 2010 season that included four top tens and a win suffered a thumb injury that lead to a three month break from competition. Despite citing this injury as a reason for granting a medical exemption, Kim was unable to get
a card on the basis that since returning to competition in August Kim had failed to play in a single European Tour event.
Thomas Bjorn the committee chairman responsible for the decision said that they “accept that he has been injured” but notes that since he “started playing again in August and has made no effort to complete his 12 tournaments. And there have been plenty of
events here since the end of the FedEx Cup in America which he could have entered.”
Kim underwent surgery on the ligaments in his left thumb just weeks after his win at the Shell Houston Open. His return came 8 October at the Bridgestone Invitational where he struggled finishing the event tied for 76. Since then, Kim has gone on to compete
in an additional five PGA Tour tournaments missing the cut in four of them.
It is not any wonder that Kim would not add to his total of seven tournaments played on the European Tour in 2010. The quality of Kim’s play since his return has not warranted a trip to Europe but Bjorn and the European Tour remain unsympathetic towards
Kim’s situation.
Despite Kim missing the majority of the events on the European Tour he is ranked 48th in the race to Dubai money list. His position on the money list would qualify him for the season ending Dubai World Championship but because he fails to meet the 12 tournament
requirement he will be unable to play.
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