Golf is a sport of patience and precision, that comes with experience. But do today’s golfers possess more of those qualities than the veterans? One could argue but the six-time PGA Tour winner Lucas Glover does think so. Having turned pro in 2001, his career spans over 2 decades but he is still skeptical of his skills, given the immense competition that is there in the field these days. 

Glover is currently playing in the Sanderson Farms Championship, and so far, it has been good for him. In the third round, the golfer carded 4 under, finishing at 16 under which is indeed pretty amazing. While Glover’s name shines in the T4 position in the Mississippi event before the final day, his experience count is way more than those at the top. His peers Keith Mitchell and Beau Hossler, currently hold the first and second positions, respectively. Both Mitchell, 32, and Hossler, 29, have a clear age and experience gap compared to Glover. Although one might expect Glover to feel confident due to his experience, he doesn’t see it that way. 

Lucas Glover on the PGA Tour’s changing landscape

After Glover was done with his Saturday round, he sat down for a couple of questions with the media. There, he was asked if he believes his experience of winning on the PGA Tour gives him an upper hand, or not, he replied, “I don’t think so anymore.” But why would a golfer with so much experience think so? 

With time, golf has experienced various changes, including the inclusion of technology (balls, clubs, analysis tools, etc). This was something that was not a primary aspect during the time of the legends. According to Glover, getting an advantage due to experience was relevant 20 years ago, but not today. He then said, “Everybody out here is so good and so seasoned to win. Just it’s in the DNA now. All the young guys coming up—it’s like the program different than 20 years ago.”

Moving into the final day, Glover is in the top 8, and all the other players on that list are way less experienced than him. Interestingly, he is the only player in the top 8 who has multiple Tour wins, and the only other golfer with a win is Mitchell, who won 2019 The Honda Classic. Is this making Glover nervous? Slightly; “But coming down the stretch tomorrow, nerves are nerves, and knowing how to handle it is different. The depth out here is so deep—the depth of talent, I should say—that there will be a lot of the guys who probably aren’t worried about nerves.”

Well, it is only right to have jitters when you are in contention but considering he had a few decent finishes in 2024, he could come out victorious. Just last year, Glover won two events, Wyndham Championship, and the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The fact that Lucas Glover believes that everyone is seasoned to win now, is true. The age and experience do not matter as much as it used to on the greens, and Nick Dunlap proved this early in the 2024 season.

Nick Dunlap defied the norm of age on the course

Whether it’s the experience of a veteran like 71-year-old Reed Hughes or the enthusiasm of 20-year-old Nick Dunlap, golf has witnessed it all. It’s a pretty cool notion that when dedication and passion enter, age and experience take a back seat. Indeed, experience speaks louder in terms of precision, but with his historic amateur win, Dunlap defied every such norm.  In January 2024, following his win at the American Express in California, Dunlap became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.

Dunlap was elated to be there as he said, “I went over a scenario for today probably a million times and it’s never going to go how you planned, and it didn’t,” Dunlap said. “I’m so happy to be standing here.” His triumph on the field garnered a lot of attention, making him a hot topic among the netizens. Considering his impressive record of winning both U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur titles, he was tied in comparison to legendary golfer Tiger Woods.

“It is so cool to be out here and experience this as an amateur,” Dunlap said following his win. “If you would have told me that, you know, come Wednesday night I’d have the putts to win this golf tournament, I wouldn’t believe you.” Well, nobody could have but he did in fact win and defied the notion that only experienced players win on the Tour, something that even Lucas Glover agrees with.

So, what are your thoughts on the matter? Do you agree with Lucas Glover and his notion that every golfer, no matter how young or new is now seasoned to win?