THE BIG EASY IS READY for the Champions Tour (PGA Tour Champions). Hall of Famer Ernie Els has reached that magic age.
John Strege of Golfworld wrote:
Els already has turned 50 and has indicated he is eager to join his contemporaries on the senior tour. He [was] entered in the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, which start[ed] [on a] Thursday in Hawaii.
“I’ve had a great time out here [on the PGA Tour],” Els said last June. “It’s been quite a long time out here. And I’ll still play some of the events that I’m the past champion of, but I think I’m going to transition well onto the other side and play some golf on the Champions Tour and go see some of my old friends.”
(Els finished second in his debut, losing to Miguel Angel Jimenez in a playoff.)
Jim Furyk, who turns 50 in May, might not be far behind.
“If I’m competitive and I feel like I’m knocking on the door and having opportunities to win, I’d like to play some out here,” Furyk said of the PGA Tour last year. “If that’s not the case, I’ll go to [the PGA Tour Champions] and see if I can be competitive out there.