Vijay Singh’s surprise Sony Open start got a lot of attention last week, first for the way he got there (by taking advantage of a career money list exemption) and then for the way he played once he arrived (T40, tied or two-thirds of the PGA Tour’s season starting field). It was an ode to his long career and an inspiring stand against time.
But did it unlock? another PGA Tour season approaching?
Maybe.
And it will be interesting to see if the PGA Tour responds.
Singh’s Sony Swan Song
First, a word about Singh’s start at Sony: The soon-to-be 63-year-old was able to take over at Waialae Country Club because every player in the top 50 on the all-time money list gets a one-time, one-season pass with full access to a season of their choosing. Singh, No. 8 on the all-time list (No. 6 if you don’t count the LIV guys) used his top-50 exemption for 2026 and played for Sony, where he became one of the Tour’s oldest creators ever. And warmed up for this week’s PGA Tour Champions opener, a few islands away at Hualalai.
It was also possibly his last chance to play a tournament he loves (and which he won in 2005); Sony’s sponsorship expires this year and Hawaiian swing faces an uncertain future on the PGA Tour.
Now Singh could play a lot more this year if he wants; his category effectively makes him eligible for any full-field event. But it’s unlikely he will. In an interview of Sports illustrated Max Schreiber suggested he race no more than a pair in preparation for running Augusta National.
“If I’m fit enough to run the Masters, because that’s a hilly course, I might be able to play in San Antonio a week before that and Phoenix is a pretty flat course, so I could play that,” he said. AND.
Singh also said a few other interesting things in the interview. “I went there to play well, to compete,” he said, dispelling the idea that he was a field filler. “It’s the first time I ran 18 [holes] in a long time,” he added, a reminder of the benefits of the Champs tour. And then there was this: “I got a lifetime exemption… [and] I should get my exemption back for next year, so if I wanted to play next year, I could.”
That caught my attention. Whoa – next year too?
What exactly is a ‘life member’?
A little digging revealed more details about the PGA Tour lifetime membership; let’s take a look at them. When a player wins their twentieth PGA Tour event, they join an elite group called Life Members who have special category access to PGA Tour fields. Singh has amassed a total of 34 victories, the most of any non-American in history. But to stay eligible To access Life Members you need to do two things:
1. Play at least one PGA Tour event the previous year
2. Have a score average within three strokes of the field average for the rounds you play
And here’s where it gets interesting. Singh’s four-day average at Sony was 68.75, actually better than the field average of 69.26. That means he is good on the first criterion and three and a half shots clear on the second. What if he didn’t play at all for the rest of the year? That’s right, he would be eligible as a lifetime member for 2027. On the other hand, if he plays poorly at the Masters or starts at a different spot here and there, his scoring average could rise and he would work his way out of 2027 eligibility.
Who else could this affect? Fewer golfers than you might think. The group of twenty-somethings is a rarefied air; only 34 men have ever crossed the threshold and only 15 of them are still alive. Of those fifteen, only six are active players on any tour, and two of them (Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson) play on LIV. No one played outside the Life Member category in 2025.
That leaves us with four names: Tiger Woods, who hasn’t played in a while but has his own category (80 wins gives you special access) should he try to return; Rory McIlroy, who is suitably fit at the moment (as the reigning Masters champion, he will be); Davis Love III, who plays a partial PGA Tour Champions schedule, plus occasional PGA Tour starts (he served as player-host at the RSM Classic); and Singh.
This is more of a fun quirk of the Tour than any problem; we’re talking about two players in their 60s who are legends of the Tour and wouldn’t be interested in playing many events anyway. There aren’t a ton of pros who will suddenly be twenty-time winners either; Scottie Scheffler (19) could get there this week and Justin Thomas (16) is within shouting distance, but no one else from the current competitive set is within five. But in an era when the Tour is cutting back on the size of its fields and its fully exempt ticket holders, every available start is under scrutiny.
Opening the side door
The strange and fascinating thing about this particular ability is how quickly it can be unlocked. For example, when Love played at the RSM last fall, he shot 71-76 and missed the cut. The scores were low at Sea Island that week (67.78 and 67.92 batting averages on the courses he played every day), but had he shot two under 34 on his second nine Friday instead of four over 40 and posted 71-70, he would suddenly be eligible for life membership again for the entire 2026 season.
That probably wouldn’t be a problem. Golf fans love Davis Love III, and would he actually add any other starts? But it’s worth thinking about the implications of the rule. A slightly more plausible case: If Phil Mickelson stops playing LIV Golf at some point, serves some sort of PGA Tour suspension, or an agreement is reached between the two sides, a few good rounds at the majors could put him back on Tour in the Life Member category.
To push the boundaries of your imagination, here’s a scenario that will only happen in theory could: If 70-year-old Greg Norman (20 career PGA Tour wins) were to qualify (or get some sort of special exemption) for the Open Championship and hang around the cut line, he would suddenly also be eligible to play the Tour full-time again. (To be fair, serving as commissioner of a rival startup league could lead to a change of statute. Let’s get this thing back on track.)
Closing the side door
What’s the point of all this? Most importantly, as the Tour reshapes its future, there are little side doors everywhere that they must decide whether to leave ajar or lock for good.
It’s easy to laugh at the idea of anyone having to explain this stuff to Brian Rolapp, the Tour’s new CEO, who comes from the NFL and has no real golf background. It’s safe to say there is no pro-football equivalent for a 63-year-old working his way back onto a PGA Tour card, which could go against each of Rolapp’s three stated principles of equality, scarcity and simplicity. And as the Tour reconsiders the schedule – and eligibility criteria – for 2027 and beyond, it’s easy to imagine this type of category becoming more formally limited.
There is plenty to say about the Tour’s course, as it aims to become bigger, brighter and more efficient. Rolapp is already leading that charge with Woods and others at his side. But there will be some oddities we’ll miss, some intriguing subplots, like the thrill of Singh teeing off the Tour at will – and outsmarting golfers half his age when he does so.
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