Word: pga
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Around the same time Kuhn was dispensing justice, golf's Elysian Fields, previously untrod by the court bailiff, was becoming a battlefield of lawsuits. The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) recently decided to revoke a ruling that entitled every past winner of U.S. Open or PGA Championships from having to qualify before entering a tournament. The aging winners of these two foremost tournaments are now bringing suit against the PGA, and the list of plaintiffs includes such illustrious names as Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Ken Venturi, Don January and Dave Marr...
These players, all of whom won either the Open or the PGA prior to 1970, are incensed because they believe that the exemption that accompanied their prize money was part of a solemn contract that is now being retroactively broken. As of this year these old-timers will be required to play in at least 15 tournaments and earn at least $10,000 per season to maintain their exemptions. For a septagenarian such as Sarazen, it is well-nigh impossible to meet such "performance guidelines...
These players feel, not unnaturally, they earned their privilege fair and square, and no one should simply rescind them. As Bob Rosburg, the winner of the 1959 PGA, noted, "If you had told me, when I won, that I could have the exemption or the prize money but not both, I'd have taken the exemption...
...present brouhaha, Sarazen says, "I've been paying my PGA dues for 57 years. I've got this card which gives me a lifetime exemption from qualifying for a Tour tournament. Now they tell me it's not good...
Puerta Hierro is the permanent venue for the Madrid Open, which is a regular event on the British PGA tour. In 1974, Vik qualified for the Madrid Open and played in a field that included Tony Jackson and Peter Oosterhuis before missing the 36-hold cut by a stroke. Puerta Hierro also hosted the World Amateur Team Championship in 1970, in which Vik played this fall...