With 11 wins and two majors, there aren’t many players on the Champions Tour who have achieved more accomplishments over the past half-decade than Gerry Kelly. Once he reached the age of 50 in 2017, it didn’t take long for him to move onto the senior ring scene. He won twice in his rookie season, and in the five years since, has established himself as one of the best players on the over-50 tour.
It’s not a bad way to live out the later part of your football career – but it’s a far cry from Kelly’s pro-golf beginnings. Three decades ago, Kelly would not have contested the major champions and captains of the Ryder Cup. Instead, he was cutting his teeth on the Nike Development Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour).
In 1995, Kelly reached his peak on the AAA circuit. That season, he won twice and brought in nearly $200,000 in winnings, which was enough to get him Player of the Year honors.
When it came time for the trophy to arrive in the mail, there was a slight problem. Instead of sending the Nike Tour Player of the Year award, executives at Ponte Vedra mixed up and accidentally sent Greg Norman the PGA Tour Player of the Year award.
“I totally considered keeping her,” Kelly said on this week’s episode of Subpar on GOLF. “I don’t remember if they called me first or I called them first — I’m not sure about that. I remember a conversation with my family saying, ‘That’s kind of cool.'”
A POTY trophy for one of the best players in the game would be quite the conversation piece, but in the end, Kelly returned it to its rightful owner.
Check out the full episode of Subpar below.