PGA Tour winner Kevin Chappell has confirmed he is hanging up his golf clubs for good.
The 39-year-old turned professional in 2008 and joined the Tour three years later.
He has amassed more than 300 starts on the established circuit and picked up one victory at the 2017 Valero Texas Open.
Chappell also finished inside the top-10 in three majors during his career but he has now confirmed to Golf’s Subpar that he is stepping away from the sport.
He had back surgery in 2018 and it has been a struggle ever since, with the golfer only playing in 90 tournaments.
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“It was basically a year and a half when I didn’t play a lot of competitive golf, and I really struggled to find any form after that,” he told the pod.
“And in that time, I started to grow as a person, started to grow as a father, and priorities started to change.
“I realised my work ethic was going down and my results were going down.”
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry
Chappell’s highest ever world ranking was 23rd. He has since fallen to 663.
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Earlier this year, he played in the PGA Tour’s team event in Zurich as an alternate and was stunned watching Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry at TPC Louisiana.
McIlroy and Lowry were the defending champions.
“I’m watching Shane and Rory play, and I might not have ever been Rory, but I certainly was a top-30 player in the world, and I’m like, man, the amount of work it’s going to take to get back there, and the things I’m going to miss out on, I’m not sure this is worth it to me,” Chappell said.
“So, I kind of sat on that thought in the spring and into the summer. Took the family to Europe and played two DP World Tour events and was like, I think this is it.”
Chappell is not the only notable professional golfer to announce he is stepping away from the game this year.
Former European Ryder Cup star, Nicolas Colsaerts, has confirmed he will retire at the end of the DP World Tour season.
Sweden’s Alexander Bjork announced his retirement in September and Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera played in his final event at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
Chappell not a fan of PGA Tour’s direction
Chappell also told the podcast that he believes the PGA Tour will soon become a ‘tennis model’.
New chief executive officer Brian Rolapp, who will replace commissioner Jay Monahan in 2026, has promised a huge shake-up in which changes will be made swiftly and not gradually.
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Already, we have seen the number of PGA Tour cards reduced from 125 to 100.
Rolapp has also announced the future competition committee, chaired by Tiger Woods, which will re-think how the Tour competes.
Chappell said: “I don’t know what the future holds for the Tour.
“It just seems like it’s turning much into a tennis model where you’re gonna have eight to 12 events a year that really matter, and the rest of it, there will be a tour that exists, but if you’re not a regular fan, you’re not gonna really know what’s going on.”
He added: “There’s an opportunity for guys to make a living in those events, but as far as being relevant, it’s gonna be harder and harder to have that long career that you’ve seen in the past.
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“You’re gonna have your generational talents that are gonna do it, but I think careers get shorter, guys make more money, they move on and go do something else.
“Somehow, they need to get the turnover rate that matches the exit rate, and it could be sustainable.
“I don’t love it, but if that’s what the business model says that they need to be doing to grow the game of golf, then that’s what they gotta do.”
What do you think about the future of the PGA Tour?
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