Geoff Ogilvy has exercised his top-50 career money list exemption to stay on the US PGA Tour next season.
The Victorian failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs at No.161 in the rankings, but his No.28 status on the career earnings list alleviates his need to play the Web.Com Tour finals.
Ogilvy told Associated Press that, at age 39, he thought it better to play the one-time card now so he can overcome a trough while he’s still young enough to earn his card through normal means in the future.
“Guys will take it at the end of their careers as a bridge to the Champions Tour. That’s the traditional thought about it,” Ogilvy told AP.
“At that point, I could play enough tournaments to amuse me at 48 while trying to bridge that gap.
“But if you’re just using it as a bridge, you’re not as competitive any more. That’s what I thought about it. This is really what it’s for, to get you through a bad patch. What if I never need it again? Then you’re asking, ‘Why didn’t I take it?’.”
If the 2006 US Open champ gets his game turned around, he could easily move back into the top 25 in career money which would earn him another one-time exemption.
Ogilvy said he contemplated playing the four Web.Com Tour finals because he had played better in the past month with three top-25s in four events, the best three finishes of his season.
“I felt if I had three or four more weeks, I would have gotten there,” he said.
“At first, I thought I would go play the Web.Com, but I feel like I want to play a full, regular, normal year. My golf needs one of those. With a Web card, you’re not getting in all the tournaments.”
He will start at the Safeway Open in California in October.
