Amatuer turning professional

Question
This weeks Byron Nelson spurred an interesting subject with friends.  Can an amateur golfer decide to turn professional during or immediately after a tournament in order to collect prize money or must they seek professional status prior to teeing it up in the first round of the event?

Answer
Larry,

The amateur must declare his/her intention to play as a professional (accept prize money) prior to starting play.  In fact, it is part of the entry form.  Since the entry form is filed well before play begins I'm not sure whether an amateur could change his/her mind between the submitting of the entry and the beginning of play.  I suspect that it would be allowed, however.  But not after play begins...

Respectfully,

Paul Dolman
PGA Golf Professional