Provo's Dan Forsman eager to embark on second stage of career
However, for Dan Forsman, his 50th birthday later this month can't come fast enough.
Forsman has been looking forward to it for at least four years, since he lost his exempt status on the PGA Tour and got weary of chasing the flatbellies on the PGA Tour. He's excited to join the Champions Tour, an exclusive club for golfers age 50 and older.
"For a while it seemed like 50 would never come," Forsman said this week from his home in Provo. "It's kind of like when the announcement was made about the Olympics coming to Utah and we had to wait all that time. But here I am at the doorstep."
Forsman turns 50 on July 15 and plans to get right after it, playing in the 3M Championship in Minnesota that week (July 18-20). Then he has a decision to make — whether to fly to Great Britain to play in the Senior British Open at Troon the following week or to stay home and play at the Canadian Open on the regular tour, a tournament he's always enjoyed.
Then there's the possibility of playing in the U.S. Senior Open the week after that, something he'll try to qualify for Monday at the Ogden Country Club. However, once August hits, Forsman plans to start playing Champions Tour events on a regular basis, thanks to his exempt status on that tour for at least two years.
It's not as easy as it once was to be exempt for the Champions Tour, which has tightened things up in recent years in an effort to keep more name players on its tour. Even Utah's Mike Reid, who'd won two PGA tournaments and more than $4.6 million, was on the borderline for exempt status.
However, Forsman has been assured he's in good shape thanks to his $8,646,002 earnings on the PGA Tour, which puts him high enough on the all-time money list to be exempt.
Forsman won five times on the PGA Tour, starting with a win at the Quad Cities Open in 1985 and winning again 17 years later at the SEI Pennsylvania Classic. In between, he won the Bay Hill Classic in 1986, the Shearson-Lehman Hutton Open in San Diego in 1990 and the Buick Open in 1992.
Although his best money season was 2002, when he pocketed $1.3 million, his best overall season was 1992, when he finished 10th on the money list with a win and three second-place finishes. The following year he came close to winning the Masters, done in by a quadruple-bogey 7 at No. 12 in the final round.
Recent comments
Great job Dan! You've had an amazing career and have many great...
Mark Zimbelman | July 3, 2008 at 8:06 a.m.
Probably the nicest and classiest pro I've ever met. He is one...
In a class by himself | July 3, 2008 at 7:28 a.m.
Congratulations, Dan. Your friends have been waiting for this birthday...
David Decker | July 3, 2008 at 4:37 a.m.
