Sports News

Here’s why the 65-year-old pro recently received a rare exemption from the PGA Tour

Jay Don Blake will play in this week’s Black Desert Classic.

Getty Images

Week one on the PGA Tour.

That can only be expected with the introduction of the Tour’s newest competitive event, the Black Desert Classic at the Black Desert Resort in Irving, Utah. The classic is the second of two new events on the PGA Tour’s 2024 schedule, following in the footsteps of the Myrtle Beach Classic this spring.

But perhaps the most interesting story on the PGA Tour this week isn’t the first. No, the more exciting story is the one that could be the PGA Tour last time. His name is Jay Don Blake, a 65-year-old professional from St. George, Utah – and on Tuesday morning at the Black Desert Classic, he got the best news of the week: He was on the field.

Blake received the release of the last sponsor at the event, cementing a place in the field with emotional fashion – and personal history.

“Being part of the tournament, the first St. George event,” Blake said in a tearful video posted to the PGA Tour’s official social media channels. “Being a part of that has been a dream since I was little.”

The story of Blake’s journey back to the PGA Tour debut in 2004, with a borderline professional career. Blake was 45 years old at the time, and for the first time in more than two decades of playing golf, he could see the end. He played in 14 events during the 2004 season and only made the cut in four, his best finish coming in a season-opening T41 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He went to the PGA Tour qualifying for the end of the season and finished 109th, out of contention for a Tour card in 2005.

At that moment, Blake believed it was over. After leaving collegiate golf at Utah State, he was on the Tour for more than two decades. He had a great career, managing one PGA Tour victory, five majors, 18 top fives and 36 top 10s. Most impressive, however, were the statistics that showed the original the depth of his skill: his number of starts, weighing almost 500.

Almost.

As his PGA Tour career number began to stick at 496, Blake’s playing career continued in the years following the 2004 spinout. Basically, his debut came as a member of the PGA Tour Champions, where he competed for the better part of two decades after 2004, but he never gave up on hitting number 500 on the major tour.

Little by little, as the years went by, it began to sneak in. He qualified for the US Open in 2013 and earned a subsequent sponsor’s exemption from Barbasol in 2018. By the time 2020 arrived, his career number one on the PGA Tour was 499.

With the PGA Tour returning to Blake’s hometown, and Blake celebrating his 65th birthday, the Tour and Black Desert Resort knew what to do. They invited Blake’s family down to the tournament for a surprise, and when Blake arrived, they gave the PGA Tour tourney the last sponsor’s release on the field.

Expectations this week are low for Blake, who has started just two professional games anywhere tour from early 2023, but that may not matter at all. At 65 years old, he’ll put it together again in a PGA Tour event – and make it to the top 500.

In the first week on the PGA Tour, the Black Desert Classic provided the Blake family with a significant boost for the last time — and the Utah crowd has a hometown hero to cheer for.

James Colgan

James Colgan is a news editor and features on GOLF, writing articles for websites and magazines. He manages Hot Mic, the GOLF media stand, and applies his camera knowledge to all product platforms. Before joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, where he was a caddy (and atute looper) scholarship recipient on Long Island, where he hails from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.




Source link

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button