Kite may shun senior tour when he turns 50

By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer

GARNER, N.C. (AP) - Tom Kite, golf's all-time leading money winner, said Monday he may bypass the lucrative Senior Tour when he hits age 50 if he remains competitive on the PGA Tour.

Kite, who has won more than $9.37 million and has 19 PGA Tour victories, would be the first big-name golfer not to make the tour switch since the senior circuit began its boom in the 1990s.

Other top Senior Tour golfers - Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and Hale Irwin - have continued to play PGA Tour major championships, while still playing seniors.

Nicklaus, however, plays only a handful of senior events, and Irwin has been somewhat critical of the shorter layouts on the over-50 circuit.

"Those guys have played well on the Senior Tour, but in their hearts and minds they know that the PGA Tour is the place to be," said Kite, who said he would prefer to maintain a full PGA Tour schedule when he hits 50 in four years.

"If I continue to challenge and compete on the PGA Tour, that's where I would rather play," said Kite, in town for a groundbreaking ceremony for Old Stage Golf & Country Club, a public course the former U.S. Open champion is helping co-design. "That is my opinion of where the big leagues are.

"All the other tours, as great as they are, they are not the majors, they're not the big leagues. They all wish they have what the PGA Tour has. They do a great job in their own right of addressing what they are trying to do, but everybody will agree that the PGA Tour is the No. 1 place to play golf."

Back problems slowed Kite after his 1992 U.S. Open win at Pebble Beach, and he hasn't won since 1993. But he remains one of the game's hardest workers, and is confident he will return to top form soon.

Kite will compete in this week's PGA Tour stop in Greensboro.

"Just like everybody else, I'm older but I sure don't feel older," Kite said when asked about his health. "I'm still in good shape."

Kite said he wouldn't rule out playing on the Senior Tour, but it's obviously not his first choice.

"I will take a good, hard look at that when I turn 50. I enjoy being where I am right now and competing in the arena where I am."