Interesting story this week.
Golf Channel's Jason Sobel has the bizarre tale of Joey Snyder III, who's technically been on the PGA Tour for the last six years, but he's hardly played any golf. Due to an injury and several doctors who misdiagnosed his problem, Snyder has been sitting at home, but he's been able to keep his PGA Tour status.
Four months of that. Three months with another doctor. There were even procedures done to potentially alleviate the pain. In late-2009, Snyder underwent surgery for a sports hernia, and then was told immediately afterward that he needed to have surgery on his right hip, as well. Neither solved the problem. He still couldn’t swing the golf club.
All during this time, he heard the whispers from fellow PGA Tour members. When a player with full status is injured, he not only receives a medical extension which allows him to resume playing privileges once healthy, but also a monthly stipend during that absence.
And this could be the craziest part of the story. During the six years he's been off the Tour, he and his wife had two children, and they've never seen him go to work.
“I’ve been at home every single day of their lives. It’s been great. It’s been the only thing that’s kept me sane,” he explains. “They said, ‘Daddy, why do you have to go?’ I told them, ‘This is what Daddy does for a living. I know you haven’t seen it, but hopefully you’ll get to see what Daddy does.’”