My Shot I don't care what the critics say: The Majors tour would be good for golf, and fading older golfers

I've taken flak for supporting the proposed Majors tour,
including a couple of shots from players who have said the idea
is motivated entirely by greed. If people want to feel that way,
that's fine, but I'm in favor of the new tour only because I
want to have a chance to win a tournament again. I'm not looking
for easy money; I'm looking for competition.

I'm 42 and not having a lot of fun on Tour. I can't compete with
the young guys, and I don't see that changing. A lot of players
my age end up rotting before they're old enough to join the
Senior tour. (Ben Crenshaw is the greatest guy in the world, but
watching him miss all those cuts before he turned 50 was sad to
me.) There are many others--Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Curtis
Strange, to name a few--who are in the same no-man's land. Fans
still want to see us play and come down the stretch with a
chance to win. As a fan, I know I'd want to see Nick and Greg in
that position again. But let's face it, it's unusual when a guy
in his mid-to-late 40s wins on Tour.

People think that the Majors tour would be my deal, that I'm
going to be the commissioner. That's simply not true. I think
the Majors is a very good idea, and I'm supporting it. That's
all. I know Greg tried to do something similar several years ago
by creating a world tour--I was one of the guys who left him
hanging--but the difference here is I'm talking about players
who are no longer competitive on a regular basis.

I would never promote the Majors tour if I felt it would have a
negative impact on the Senior tour or the regular Tour. In fact,
I think the Majors would actually help those circuits. We're
talking about only eight to 12 events a year. Once a guy my age
gets another taste of success, he's going to want to play more
often on the established tours.

The bottom line is that the Majors tour is a solid idea that
would fill a void in pro golf, and no amount of criticism is
going to change my mind.

Fred Couples's last PGA Tour victory was the 1998 Memorial.

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