Tough Breaks
Soon-to-be senior golfer Greg Chalmers finds himself in an unusual—and unfair—predicament
Lachlan Cunningham
Like many aging PGA Tour players, Greg Chalmers can't wait for a crack at the senior tour, a place Tim Herron once called "The Promised Land." But because of a weird technicality, the 49-year-old Aussie can't play in the first PGA Tour Champions event for which he's eligible. Wait, say what?
Yep, according to the 2016 Barracuda Championship winner, the problem is where his birthday falls. Chalmers will turn the big five-oh on Oct. 11, two days before the SAS Championship starts. But that's one day after the tournament qualifier that golfers also must be 50 to enter. Talk about an unsual—and unfair—predicament.
Tough spot. That's quite a pickle, Greg.
What makes it even weirder is that Chalmers points out that 49-year-olds are allowed to enter PGA Tour Champions Q School to earn tour cards for the following season. Still, he doesn't seem too bent out of shape about the whole situation.
And he's already got another senior golfer, Bob Estes, volunteering to help fight this injustice.
Not that Greg needs it. After all, this is a guy who actually convinced a PGA Tour event (and one he never won) to make a bobblehead for him.
So Chalmers can be quite persuasive. And he's still got a couple weeks to sort it out. Good luck, Greg. Oh, and happy (early) birthday.