THE FOLKS AT GOLF DIGEST make the observations that the golf gods only grant stars a limited amount of time in the spotlight [6-8 years]; the only question is when they get that spotlight. And that when a player turns professional at an early age, he gets old [in the golf ability sense] at an early age too. "Among prominent players who turned professional as teenagers, the longest span between the first major and the last was nine years by Ballesteros, but he was only 31 when he claimed his final major." The six players they base this on [and the age they turned pro] are: Nick Faldo [18], Seve Ballesteros [17], Bernhard Langer [15], Sandy Lyle [19], J.M. Olazábal [19].