Greg Norman, the Validation Rule, and the 2001 Skins Game

The Skins Game has seen some things throughout the years, and the validation rule of 2001 is right near the top of that list. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me explain.

Twenty-four years ago, a rule change was implemented at Landmark Golf Club in Indio, California: when a player wins a hole, they need to either win or tie the following hole to “validate” their skin. Only after that would the player be awarded the winnings.

This idea seems a little strange to me, unless of course the rule-makers’ goal was to see the skin value compound throughout the match and up the drama down the closing stretch to 100. And if that’s what they were looking for, boy oh boy did they get the job done.

Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Colin Montgomerie, and Jesper Parnevik, the king of the up-turned brim, were the four players who went to battle that day, and after Norman made birdie at the 17th, he made par at 18 to validate his skin from the hole prior. It was good enough for $800,000.

I’m sure at that moment Norman agreed with the rule change.

Anyway, The Shark went on to make another $200,000 in extra holes for a total of $1 million, the entire purse of the event. Yup, Norman swept the whole thing with a hand from the validation rule (and some pretty good golf, too).

A year later, when Woods, Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, and Mark O’Meara returned to Landmark for the 20th edition, the validation rule was rescinded. O’Meara went on to collect his second Skins Game title and took home $405,000.

While The Skins Game is set to return this Black Friday (November 28), the validation rule is not. When a player wins a skin at Panther National in Palm Beach Garden, Florida, they’ll be rewarded with the cash instantly.

Make sure to tune into Prime Video for the 2025 edition in a few weeks, you won’t want to miss it.