How Tough Is It To Stay on The PGA Tour

[Golfspy_CG2]

Perhaps nothing can illustrate it better than this picture of Ricky Barnes....yes thst Ricky Barnes....leaving Monday Qualifying for a Korn Ferry event after not making it.  BTW he missed it shooting a 66!!

Great tweet by Monday Q Info

 

 

[ejgaudette]

It seems almost impossibly hard sometimes. There are only 125 full time cards, have one bad year where you have no other way to keep the card and it can go. It makes the consistency of the beat players that stay on tour for decades that much more impressive. Never having a bad year, and winning enough to stick around feels very hard.

[RickyBobby_PR]

Its crazy how many guys outside the top 75 or so seem to come and go after a few years.

[Shapotomous]

The scoring average difference from being in the top ten to being out of the top 125 is less than 1.5 shots.  The margin for error out there is razor thin.  

[PMookie]

I look to Camilo Villegas as a great example of being on Tour, being the new “it” guy, then he disappears without a trace, is on the Korn Ferry, then gets a few exemptions for some Tour tournaments, and is still trying to make it back. Funny, though, how many “regular Joe’s” who AREN’T Tour Pros at ANY level think they’re going to make the Champions Tour. I’ve heard guys here locally honestly say that they think they’ll be on the Champions Tour..... They’ve never broken 80 in their life!!!!!

Tour Pros are ridiculously good, and there are a ton of guys, WORLDWIDE, ready to take their spot!

[Golfspy_CG2]

41 minutes ago, PMookie said:

I look to Camilo Villegas as a great example of being on Tour, being the new “it” guy, then he disappears without a trace, is on the Korn Ferry, then gets a few exemptions for some Tour tournaments, and is still trying to make it back. Funny, though, how many “regular Joe’s” who AREN’T Tour Pros at ANY level think they’re going to make the Champions Tour. I’ve heard guys here locally honestly say that they think they’ll be on the Champions Tour..... They’ve never broken 80 in their life!!!!!

Tour Pros are ridiculously good, and there are a ton of guys, WORLDWIDE, ready to take their spot!

LOL  So true, it's like they think the only qualification for being on the Champions Tour is turning 50.   I remember I think it was Davis Love III who said this in an interview at the time.  I'm paraphrasing but the general idea was.  "There is a member at my club who is a year or two younger than me, and is a very fine player, and by that I mean a 3 or 4 handicap.   He was telling a bunch of us that by the time he is 50, he plans on being scratch and give the Champions Tour a go.    I listened and told him, that's a great. But you do realize when you turn 50, so will I and Steve Stricker, and Fred Couples and well you get the idea.   If you can't come within 10 strokes of us now, what makes you think you will by then"    

It was all said in good fun, but he also got the point across.!

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Can only imagine the difficulty (and in any sport at the highest level) it is to stay at the top for long periods of time. Mentally and physically that seems exhausting but at the same time the dopamine hit every week to play on that level must be ridiculous as well. I again can only imagine the grind it is to be the elite like that\.

[StrokerAce]

...which makes this stat all that more amazing. Just might be the biggest baddest best streak in the history of sports.

BTW: 683 weeks = 13 years
 

683

 

Most Weeks at No. 1

Weeks	Player
683	Tiger Woods
331	Greg Norman
123	Dustin Johnson
106	Rory McIlroy

[Golfspy_CG2]

Going back to Ricky Barnes.  He was a US Am Champ, College Player of the year, was in the final group of the US Open on the weekend at Winged Foot, I remember being there that year.   But he has never won on Tour, I think he might be in that category of most starts on Tour without a win.   Or at the very least, or among the most.

Seems like a very likeable guys with great character.  I don't know if he'll ever make it back, but he's one I would be rooting hard for if he ever somehow got in an event and got in contention.

 

[StrokerAce]

I'm sure Ricky is a great guy but I'm much more impressed with stories like this...

[DiscipleofPenick]

There's a story that opens one of Penick's books. At this point his son was head pro at Austin CC, the course we see for WGC match play. So like a 48ish year old guy comes in, says he's a +4 handicap and wants the Penick's to train him for the Senior Tour.

The son walks him into the grill and says "see that guy by the window? He is a +4 handicap at our course. He will also be joining the Senior Tour next year. There is no amount of money I would take from you to train you to be his competition." It was Tom Kite by the window.

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