ACCORDING to experts – or at least a quick search on Google – one of the toughest school exams in the world is a college entrance test in the Chinese education system called Gaokao. By all accounts, it’s harder than The Herald’s cryptic crossword. But hang on just a second. These experts, or Google, have obviously never heard of the qualifying school examination for an over-50s golf circuit.
Between the Champions Tour in the US and the Legends Tour in Europe, only 10 players can make the grade – five for each tour – and earn playing rights among the golden oldies. You’ve probably got better odds of cracking open the vaults of Fort Knox with a pumice stone. It’s a paltry amount from a vast, global entry of hopefuls so hats off to the intrepid, indefatigable Scotsman, Greig Hutcheon, who finished third in the q-school test for the Legends Tour in Turkey earlier this week to earn himself a place among Europe’s veteran elite.
The well-kent Aberdonian, a dominant and enduring force on the domestic Tartan Tour, will reach his half century just before the 2023 season tees-off and is relishing the prospect of a new chapter in his sporting life.
