“It’s become more of a holding tank for PGA Tour veterans"

Jim McCabe takes a tough look at the Nationwide Tour's eligibility rules and wonders what can be done to give younger players the developmental opportunity that defined the tour's original purpose.

Trouble is, it’s tough to get out there when the eligibility is so stacked against newcomers. For proof, Hambric pointed out that of the 26 categories for “Nationwide Tour” eligibility, nine of them (No. 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22) start with the words “PGA Tour.”

No wonder so many see the Nationwide Tour not as a young man’s playground, but a PGA Tour veteran’s second home.

“But everytime the PGA Tour meets to change the rules, it becomes less of a developmental tour,” Hambric said.

And...

In the days following the second-stage heartache, disappointment has worn off and reality has taken hold for talented players such as Stanley, Lovemark, Van Sickle, Woltman, and Chappell. Where do they go from here? The multitude of Nationwide Tour categories are not theirs; they are for the PGA Tour veterans. Instead, they must turn to an assortment of options – the minitours, Monday qualifiers, Canada, sponsor exemptions, even overseas, or maybe a little of everything.

“In essence,” Hambric said, “you’ve got to build your own tour.”

That’s because the one the PGA Tour built for them many years ago is broken.