PGA Championship: Major Debut at 61 After 20 Years Without Playing Golf

40 years ago, he was considered one of the greatest golf talents in the USA, won national junior championships and wanted to become a tour pro. Then he got injured and the dream was over. But things got even worse for Tracy Phillips: Yips meant that he didn’t touch a club for 20 years, although he continued to work as a PGA Pro. Now, at the age of 61, he is taking part in a major for the first time at the PGA Championship. A truly crazy story.

A slipped disc halted his young career, reports golf.com in a detailed story about the man who not only topped the US amateur rankings as a junior, but also later went to university on a golf scholarship. After an eight-month injury break due to a herniated disc, he had lost his “natural swing”, says Phillips. With a lot of work and training, he wanted to get back to his old level, but it was at a pro-am in Wyoming that he felt for the first time that something was wrong. “The first hole was a par-5 and there was an in-course out of bounds to the right and there was an out-of-bounds pasture to the left. I stepped up and proceeded to hit a driver on the range, hit a driver out of bounds left and then finally just hit a 7-iron down the fairway just to get it in. I think at that time, it was just like, it was obvious — I was just toast.” golf.com quotes Phillips as saying.

“The guys are gonna be hitting it 60-70 yards by me. That just means I get to hit 1st into the greens.”
61 YEAR OLD Tulsa area teaching pro Tracy Phillips, in the field for the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
I talked with Tracy before he left for Louisville. Wild story #PGAChamppic.twitter.com/gwgQvcHCvx

— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKTUL) May 15, 2024

At 61: Playing the PGA Championship for the First Time

The search for his old form had tired him so much that at some point he no longer felt like playing. Yips, those uncontrolled muscle twitches that all golfers fear, were the reason. They usually occur when putting, but the now 61-year-old experienced them time and again with the driver. Not only did this make a career on the tour impossible, it also made it impossible to even put a ball in play.

Like his father, who was a golf teacher for 40 years, he concentrated on his pupils. And didn’t play golf himself for 20 years. It was only the persuasion of a few friends that convinced him to return to the golf course. While he enjoyed playing with his buddies again, he also steadily improved. A few qualifying tournaments later, he had already qualified for the US Club Pro Championships again and competed there for several years. Even though he missed the cut more often than he made it, his passion was rekindled.

Philipps has already played several majors on the senior tour in recent years (and made cuts), even if he doesn’t regularly compete against Bernhard Langer and co. He has now made it into the field of a men’s major for the first time via the qualifying tournaments of the PGA of America. At the age of 61 and after a 20-year break. “The very thing that took me out of the game for 20 years is kind of my strong suit.,” says Phillips, delighted with his renewed love for his driver.