16 year old turns pro

[neudi]

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.a...4&select;=24739

This young man just turned pro on Thursday at the age of 16. Do you think that there should be an age minimum to go pro. I know its the Japan Tour, but still, 16 it a reach, I think 18 should be the minimum age to turn pro just like 3 years out of high school for football and 1 for basketball. 16 just seems to young.

[Shindig]

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.a...4&select;=24739

I don't think there should be a minimum age to turn pro, but I think in general it's a bad idea. However, unlike some other kids who turned pro (two Hawaiian teens come to mind), Ryo has actually won an event. And there are kids who turn pro after "learning to win," such as Morgan Pressel and Ai Miyazato (who also won in Japan as an amateur) who turn out just fine. In general, my suggestion would be "learn to win, then turn pro."

[cbe_golfer]

It does not strike me as a bad idea. I wonder if there is a thing called premature burnout even if you dont turn pro. It would be bad if you were shooting low 60s at 16 but lost your swing at 20 and never bothered to turn pro earlier. It does not hurt to have some money in the bank. No offense to any other opinion though.

[Quinn07]

I like the idea of having a minimum age before turning pro. Take a look at Michelle Wie, sure some of her problems stem from her supporting group as well as others, but she has money but might be one of the biggest laughing stocks of professional sports right now.

I don't think there is a problem with waiting to turn pro. If you lose your skill by the time you are 20, then it probably doesn't matter if you turn pro at a young age. Play two years on tour, loose everything you have and not have any education to fall back on. If you are good enough there is going to be endless money waiting for you.

[Cizzle]

Definitely should have to finish high school golf while playing in tourneys to turn pro. Michelle Wie finally realized it wasn't going to work, and I believe is playing college golf at Stanford. As it's been said, high school golf/tourneys are different than college golf, and completely different than all the tours.

[Shindig]

Definitely should have to finish high school golf while playing in tourneys to turn pro. Michelle Wie finally realized it wasn't going to work, and I believe is playing college golf at Stanford. As it's been said, high school golf/tourneys are different than college golf, and completely different than all the tours.

Wie, as she was a professional, is not eligible for college golf.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

Definitely should have to finish high school golf while playing in tourneys to turn pro. Michelle Wie finally realized it wasn't going to work, and I believe is playing college golf at Stanford. As it's been said, high school golf/tourneys are different than college golf, and completely different than all the tours.

Michelle Wie is a pro and is not eligible to play college golf. She is not playing college golf at Stanford.

Sorry, Shindig ... I was working on my response when you posted and didn't realize it until after I posted.

[Shindig]

Sorry, Shindig ... I was working on my response when you posted and didn't realize it until after I posted.

That's fine. No worries. I'm sure I've done something like this, too.

[Ben]

Look at tennis pros. Year in and year out that hottest pros are in their mid teens. I've been getting friendly with the 21 year old tennis pro at our club. She's bent out of shape because she's now too old to give the pro ranks a real go. I say, if you've got the game, go for it.

[albatroz]

In this world of uncertain events it would be wise to have a proper education then turn Pro . I belive it is the parents resposiblity to impart to their children the value of education . 99.8 percent of kids who dream of making it big one day will come to realize the truth when all smoke has cleared . There is only one Tiger , one Jordan ....

[Cizzle]

You guys are right, I must've gotten confused when they said she was leaving the Men's circuit and going to Stanford, I just put one and one together

[iacas]

This young man just turned pro on Thursday at the age of 16. Do you think that there should be an age minimum to go pro. I know its the Japan Tour, but still, 16 it a reach, I think 18 should be the minimum age to turn pro just like 3 years out of high school for football and 1 for basketball. 16 just seems to young.

To be clear, "turning pro" is not the same thing as "being accepted as a member of the PGA Tour."

A 5-year-old can technically "turn pro" under USGA rules. It doesn't take much.

I like the idea of having a minimum age before turning pro. Take a look at Michelle Wie, sure some of her problems stem from her supporting group as well as others, but she has money but might be one of the biggest laughing stocks of professional sports right now.

She has the money, doesn't she? I wonder how much public ridicule I could put up with if given $10M...

There's no way you can put a minimum age on turning pro. Not unless the USGA revises its rules or something. And we sure as heck can't enforce our rules on JAPAN! At the very least discuss Tadd Fujikawa or something.

[Shindig]

In this world of uncertain events it would be wise to have a proper education then turn Pro . I belive it is the parents resposiblity to impart to their children the value of education . 99.8 percent of kids who dream of making it big one day will come to realize the truth when all smoke has cleared . There is only one Tiger , one Jordan ....

He has stated he intends to keep his grades up. He can finish high school, play professionally on a tour, and if that doesn't work out, he'll certainly have enough money to go to college.

You guys are right, I must've gotten confused when they said she was leaving the Men's circuit and going to Stanford, I just put one and one together

Yeah, I thought the same at first, admittedly. I figured she had re-applied for amateur status, but figured the USGA wouldn't grant it to her. She's just there as a student.

[sboardz006]

well he's already won on the Japanese tour...

I don't think there should be an age restriction.

[Tristan]

If you are good enough then why not. Look at tiger he won all that was possible and then turned pro but that hasnt happened recently. Sorry to go on about Michelle Wie she has only won the US pub links whereas, Morgan Pressel won the US amateur. Look at which one has won a major. There is a time to turn pro but not that young, if i could and was low enough i wouldnt turn pro now as i am 16 there are more things to learn and experience. These are things that are necessarily on tour - what happens if he gets does a Justin Rose and not make a cut for 22 events will he have the strength to return at that young of an age?

[neudi]

Tennis is a much different situation b/c you don't see a lot of players in their 30's, so they have to turn pro early, whereas golf you hit your prime in your 30's.

[cbe_golfer]

Tennis is a much different situation b/c you don't see a lot of players in their 30's, so they have to turn pro early, whereas golf you hit your prime in your 30's.

I think tennis went through a power phase in the last twenty years. The whole game changed. Before that, players like Ken Rosewall were playing well into their 40s and winning tournaments. Today, a 30 year old is a has-been in tennis. Golf might be starting to see some of that.

I wonder how the average age of the pga tour has trended in the last ten years.

[extremeld]

its 18 on lpga tour

morgan pressel had to beg!

k