Mark O'Meara's 1998 double-bubble withstanding, few major championships are won by golfers in their 40s. Few tour events, for that matter, are won by fortysomethings. By the time tour players reach 50, the Second Chance Tour awaits. But it, too, has developed an age gulf, with golfers in their early 50s dominating everyone else. Obviously, pros play better than amateurs, and this is exactly why professional golf has never been long on longevity.
New talent replaces old talent.
Senior golf for amateurs is a game, while senior golf for pros is a job. Perhaps Greg Norman, wealthy enough to play golf for the thrill of it, will redefine the age barrier for pros. Norman, now 44, is an exercise fanatic. The U.S. Golf Association, with 55 as the qualifying age for its men's Senior Amateur Championship, is swimming upstream on this one. Most state and regional associations in the United States long ago went to 50.