Sometimes there’s no going back
I enjoyed your article very much (“Amateur reinstatement is hardly an evil,” Sept. 22, GGP). But I do think that the Dillard Pruitt case turned a lot of people off.
I mean, he won on the PGA Tour and then he wants his amateur status back? I think there comes a time where you can’t go back and certainly winning on the PGA Tour would qualify as that in my opinion.
However, as you point out, most of the people who get their amateur status back never won something significant professionally, and I have no problems with those people being reinstated.
Jeffrey Leimbacher
Clearwater, Florida
‘True amateur golf’ is no longer
They need to remove “amateur” from the title (“Amateur reinstatement is hardly an evil,” Sept. 22, GGP). As long as they are allowing “reinstated professionals” to enter, it is no longer a true amateur event.
These individuals who turn professional should consider that when they turned professional, they were no longer amateurs. There should be another level of tournaments for these individuals. Letting them compete against folks who have to work 40-hour weeks and never had the experience and benefits of being a pro is not right. The U.S. Amateur is essentially now just an NCAA event. True amateur golf does not exist anymore.
And as for your contention that without “reinstated professionals” there would be no U.S. Mid-Amateur, consider this: I have talked to many many golfers who could adequately compete in a U.S. Mid-Am, and all told me the same thing – they would enter but do not because of the influx of “reinstated professionals” in this event. The same goes for me. I contend there would be even more interest if they omitted these professional failures.
Here’s to Bobby Jones and Jay Sigel!
Doug Maxeiner
Crown Point, Indiana
Gratefully reinstated
I couldn’t agree with you more (“Amateur reinstatement is hardly an evil,” Sept. 22, GGP). As a reinstated amateur, I knew I had to try professional golf. Unfortunately I wasn’t good enough. Fortunately, I realized it early enough.
I wound up enjoying my life as a decent amateur. Using my skills in golf in my business career was very rewarding. My relationships with my customers gave me access that most could never enjoy.
Of course performance in my career was also a necessity, but it was much easier than needing to make a downhill 3-foot putt for a paycheck.
Charlie Miller
Westport, Connecticut
No Mid-Am, no problem
I disagree with you 100 percent (“Amateur reinstatement is hardly an evil,” Sept. 22, GGP). And I didn’t know a PGA Tour winner had been reinstated. If they had to get rid of the U.S. Mid-Amateur, so what. The USGA ended the U.S. Amateur Public Links because it turned into just another college tournament.
Jeff Evagues
Chandler, Arizona
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