Si Woo Kim finished his six days at Q-School by shooting 18-under. (Getty Images)

Monday marked the end of the PGA Tour's Q-School as we know it, but it isn't leaving without a lasting controversy sure to make 2013 that much more interesting.

si Woo Kiim, a 17-year-old South Korean, played an incredible six days of golf in Palm Springs, Calif.,  this past week, finishing tied for 20th place in the final stage of Q-School to earn his PGA Tour card for next season.

But not really. That's because the PGA Tour has an age restriction on players becoming full members on tour, denying anyone under the age of 18 a card. Kim, who got through arguably the most grueling challenge in all of golf, won't be able to use his earned PGA Tour card until he turns 18 on June 28. That will be more than 75 percent of the way through the PGA Tour season, and that's just ridiculous.

I understand that the PGA Tour has rules about these things. But if you are going to allow Kim to fork over about $5,000 to attempt to get through the PGA Tour Q-School, you'd better have an alternative if, say, he actually gets through. 

The LPGA went through this same scenario with Lexi Thompson, with Puma actually starting a "Let Lexi Play" campaign that ended with commissioner Mike Whan allowing the 17-year-old to compete in Q-School. Thompson went on to win on the LPGA before Q-School, thus petitioning for full membership before turning 18. And the LPGA went with it, the logical move for someone as important to the state of the women's game as Lexi Thompson.

Kim isn't going to change the state of the PGA Tour, but the kid should at least be given the chance. Could you imagine if Major League Baseball had a tournament to see who the best Triple-A player was and, after Bryce Harper won it, said you had to be 21 to be allowed a spot on a big-league team? It would be a hindrance to the tournament and a hindrance to the game.

Kim earned his card the only way he could, by going through the nasty stages of Q-School and emerging as one of the 26 guys who were able to survive. Now he must wait until the end of June to cash in on that accomplishment? That's shortsighted and ridiculous.

Golf can put a ban on grooves and can outlaw anchored putters, and I understand that because it seems they're trying to improve the state of the game. But men's golf, like women's golf some years ago, is getting younger and younger. These Ty Tryon-like kids are going to pop up more and more. Q-School might be dead, but we are going to keep seeing people like Beau Hossler do things at big events with barely a driver's license. The game needs to evolve into letting them have a chance at their dream.

Tryon might have tanked, but it seems irresponsible to say a kid like Si Woo Kim can attempt to earn his PGA Tour card and when he does, tell him he isn't old enough to celebrate what he did. 

Let Si Woo Kim play in 2013. It's the least you could do for us Q-School junkies who will be missing one of the greatest weeks on the PGA Tour calendar.