[PHOTO: 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… what?
Yep, according to the two-time Australian Open champion and one-time PGA Tour winner, the problem is when his birthday falls. Chalmers will turn the big five-oh on October 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 unusual—and unfair—predicament.
Here’s a gem for you…I turn 50 Oct 11th..the SAS championship starts Oct 13th so I am eligible to play.The qualifier tho is on Oct 10th which you aren’t allowed to enter until you’re 50…so i can play in the tournament but I’m not allowed to try and qualify to play in the…
— Greg Chalmers (@GregChalmersPGA) September 18, 2023
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 next season. Still, he doesn’t seem too bent out of shape about the whole situation.
49.9972 yr old
— Greg Chalmers (@GregChalmersPGA) September 18, 2023
And he’s already got another senior golfer, Bob Estes, volunteering to help fight this injustice.
What?! I’ll get that rule changed for you.
— BobEstesPGA (@EstesPga) September 18, 2023
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.
I filled out the @attproam survey earlier this year. I suggested potential for a Greggy bobble head to push their marketing to the next level. It arrived today and honestly the likeness is uncanny😎👊😂 pic.twitter.com/AtUIAgse8l
— Greg Chalmers (@GregChalmersPGA) April 26, 2023
So Chalmers can be quite persuasive. And he’s still got a couple weeks to sort it out. Even so, we also went in to bat for him, trying to get this change through on a (hard-to-ignore) technicality:
You were born in Australia so by the time Oct 10 rolls around in the US, it will already be Oct 11 here so you’ll be 50.
Problem solved 👊🏻— Steve Keipert (@steve_keipert) September 18, 2023
Good luck, Greg. Oh, and happy (early) birthday.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
