Only in the convoluted, secret sauce methodology world of the PGA Tour, could a pro golfer, who earned his card in 2012, be deemed a rookie with 2 weeks to play in the, um, 2016 season.

 
But, yep, Si Woo Kim, a 2013 rookie, is now a 2016 rookie.

Apparently, Kim was only in the field for 8 PGA Tour events (one of them a WD) in 2013.

You see, according to PGA Tour’s ridiculous rules, a player’s rookie season would never be defined in any simple to understand kind of way. Like, I don’t know, maybe the season in which he first plays on the PGA Tour with a new PGA Tour card.

Nope. It’s defined “as the season in which he becomes a PGA TOUR member (including Special Temporary Members) and plays in 10 or more events as a member or finishes in the Top 125 on the Official FedExCup Points List, the Top 125 on the Official PGA TOUR Money List or qualifies as a Top 125 Non-member, whichever occurs first.”

Member, Special Temporary Member, Non-Member… Clear. As. Mud.

Wait. It gets better.

The reason Kim only played in 8 events during his rookie year is because rules prohibit a player under 18 from being a PGA Tour member even if they earned a PGA Tour card. Kim had his card but didn’t turn 18 until June 28, 2013. His first official event as a member was not until the Greenbrier Classic in early July.

Here is Kim’s Profile at PGATOUR.com. This should clear it up a bit:

Finished T20 at the Qualifying Tournament but did not turn 18 until June 28, 2013, and because of PGA TOUR rules could not become a TOUR member until then. He was eligible for no more than 12 TOUR events as a non-member on sponsor exemptions (with a maximum of seven), top-10 performances or special exemptions prior to the date he became a regular member. Monday qualifiers did not count toward the 12 events, and he could Monday-qualify into an unlimited number of events.

Come again!?

No wonder why the PGA Tour itself was confused and never listed Si Woo Kim in its own tracking of the 2016 ROY.

H/T Golf Digest