Opting for major leagues over major championship

Kudos to Michael Allen for opting to play on the PGA Tour rather than the Champions Tour last week, a move that has paid off already and possibly could pay off handsomely should his stellar play continue.

Allen, 50, could have played in the Jeld-Wen Tradition, a major championship on the Champions Tour. Earlier this year, Allen won the Senior PGA Championship, in his Champions Tour debut, but said all along that his goal was to play the PGA Tour as long as his skills allowed him to compete.

On the bubble for the FedExCup playoffs on the PGA Tour, he chose the Wyndham Championship over the Tradition in an attempt to secure a start in the Barclays, the first FedExCup playoff event. Allen threatened to win the Wyndham before a final-hole bogey dropped him into a tie for fifth (worth $172,890). Still, it enabled him to jump from 121st on the FedExCup points list to 101st, securing him a start this week in the Barclays.

It has been said here before that when a player who is still capable of competing on the PGA Tour turns 50, he ought to postpone his Champions Tour career. Isn't the objective of any professional athlete to play the game at its highest level?

-- John Strege