Dick,
The way we look at money says a lot about us. Your title suggests that love and money are mutually exclusive. Would more pure, virtuous golf be played if the contestants were to receive a stipend to merely cover expenses?
In a nice, egalitarian way, caddies receive an equal amount, somehow furthering this more exulted play (this might actually backfire if you believe in self-interest, incentive compensation, and the results of the GE industrial psychology experiments during the first half of the 20th century).
Dick, I see the insertion of money as an issue and the ascribing of motives to it as highly counterproductive. We see it on this site by the constant harping against Fazio, Nicklaus, and Jones because of their ability to command million dollar design fees and their courses generally costing multiples of the average. That their courses are most often highly successful we turn up our elitist noses at the consumer and explain it all away with a single code word: Kincaid (Rove, Rummy, Cheney, or Bush serve the same purpose at cocktail parties in the Upper West Side).
The back and forth argument about the USGA abdicating its responsibilities to control technology has a large money component- the "greedy" manufacturers and the threat of antitrust litigation with costly consequences. Little consideration is given to the fact that it is the consumer, and yes, many on this site who complain about the USGA, who is pulling the advanced balls and equipment off the shelves.
No, Dick. It is not about love OR money. It is about people trying to live their lives, whether on the US Open stage, or in Wisconsin or Texas. For the most part, we all want much of the same.
If someone mentioned that policemen and teachers should forgoe monetary compensation and work for the love of the community, what would you say (other than that their pay is already so low that it is essentially that)? Just like there is a US Am and a Ryder Cup (though I would wager that distribution of receipts will become a bigger issue here), there are volunteer fire departments and any number of tutoring and mentoring programs. They do not and should not replace the need for a professional force which is compensated based on their contribution to the enterprise or endeavor.
As to retirement, I have not taken my ball and ran for home. There are just fewer issues on this site that are both of interest to me and that have not been rehashed numerous times. Probably much to the chagrin of some, as long as Ran and/or Tommy do not pull my login i.d., I will likely post from time to time.