Tiger Woods just got some bad news about his Hall of Fame eligibility
Tiger Woods is as much of a surefire Hall of Famer as any athlete in the world. Despite his recent struggles and injury issues, Woods will go down as one of the greatest golfers ever.
But his 79 PGA Tour wins and 14 major championships won't get him inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame any time soon. That's because the eligibility requirements were changed Wednesday, likely postponing Woods' induction by 10 years.
The PGA Tour announced that the age requirement has been bumped up from 40 to 50, effective immediately. Why does this matter to Woods? Well, because he just turned 40 in December, meeting the final requirement to make the Hall of Fame. Talk about bad timing.
Effective immediately, candidates must be at least 50 years of age at the start of the year in which selections are made, replacing the previous age requirement of 40. The exception would be if a player was at least five years removed from being an active participant on his or her respective tour.
Unlike with most other professional Hall of Fames, a player doesn't have to be retired to make it. That's probably because of the fact that golfers can play on numerous tours, including the Champions Tour (also known as the senior tour).
Guys like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Fred Couples have already made it, but they'll need to wait another decade to see Woods join them. Of course, Woods isn't even playing competitive golf -- or any golf at all, for that matter -- so he's not exactly "active." But he's long been eligible, age requirement aside.
He's surpassed the required 15-win threshold and has seven times more major wins than are needed to be inducted. The only hope Woods has left to make it before he turns 50 is by being inactive for five years, though he'd prefer to get back out there and start winning tournaments again.
He'll get in eventually, just not yet. For now, we'll call this the "Tiger Woods Rule."
