PGA Tour playing card – a fight for survival –Part 1
The PGA Tour offers a number of opportunities each year, to the young players around the world, to qualify for the elite tour and play against the best players in the world of golf.
Virtually, it may seem easy for some players to give a tough time to the senior players on the PGA Tour, as they rely on their strong track records on the small tours.
On the other hand, the reality is completely different. If one plays on the biggest tour on this planet, he has to play really well, both physically and mentally.
Every year, a number of young players make it to the bigger stage. However, they fail to retain their playing cards for the following seasons.
In simple words, it is somewhat easier to qualify for the full-time playing card for the PGA Tour, but it is really difficult to retain the status.
John Daly is one of those players who joined the PGA Tour and registered their names in the history books by recording spectacular victories early in their careers.
Daly burst on the golfing scene with a victory at the 1991 PGA Championship. The victory gave him a 10-year exemption to play on the PGA Tour.
He also won the 1995 British Open, which made him one of the best players of that time on the PGA Tour. The victory earned him another exemption, valid till 2005.
However, his off-course issues, including alcohol and gambling habits, and dissolution of four marriages completely destroyed his career.
In 2004, he won the Buick Invitational, which gave him a further extension of one year – the victory gave him exemption of two years.
However, he failed to retain his card for the 2007 PGA Tour season, as he finished the 2006 campaign with the 193rd position in the PGA Tour Official Money List. As a result, he lost his full-time playing card.
Since then, he has been relying on the sponsor exemptions to participate in the PGA Tour-sanctioned events.
This year too, he failed to make a strong move on the money list and still ranks outside the top-125, who will earn the playing status for 2013.
He earned a total of $479,595 prize money this year and still needs around $200,000 to make it to the top-125. The feat seems virtually impossible, with only a few tournaments left on the roster.
Danny Lee is another player who is finding it difficult to retain his PGA Tour card for the 2013 golf season.
Right after his victory in the 2008 US Amateur, it was expected that the New Zealander will attain huge success on the bigger stage too, because of his ability to gain length off the tee.
However, it did not happen and now he ranks 169th in the money list. With only a few tournaments left on the PGA Tour this season, Lee will have to do something out of the box to retain his card.
Stuart Appleby, in the meantime, is finding it difficult to hold onto his PGA Tour card for the upcoming season.
The Australian has recorded a total of nine PGA Tour victories in his career. However, he has not been able to cheer up his fans since his last win at the 2010 Greenbrier Classic.
According to the game experts, he has now fallen on hard times. Last year, he missed the cut 10 times in his 21 appearances on the tour. This year, he did the same.
He has fallen out of the top-350 in the Official World Golf Rankings and lists on the 162nd spot in the PGA Tour Official Money List. Therefore, he will have to fight really hard, in order to keep the card in his pocket.
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