Bonus pool for top TOUR players

[Tommy Williamsen]

Yikes. What a can of worms. I know it is nothing new but....


https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2021/04/20/pga-tour-bonus-pool-top-players-tiger-woods-bryson-dechambeau/

[jeffwarne]

20 days late for a fool's joke?


What a slippery slope indeed.


Move the needle?
next stop pro wrestling...


Guaranteed contracts next.

[JohnVDB]

The rich get richer.  Pitney should add the $40M to their charitable donations instead.

[Peter Flory]

I understand the motivation behind it, but it really is hard to like. 

The players who move the needle already earn substantially more in endorsements and tend to earn more through the playoffs. 

Why not just add to the purses?

[Phil Burr]

Perhaps Korn Ferry purses.  Regular tour courses don't need a boost.


Maybe they should just pay the money to the equipment companies whose PR is responsible for creating whales out of minnows.

[Andrew Harvie]

Not exactly a new concept. Those who bring in the most money for the company get paid better than others, but it is a bit sad to see the performance based incentives around playing good become diluted a bit because of this.

[Mike_Clayton]

Isn't it just appearance money by another name?

[David_Tepper]

https://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2021/4/20/report-pga-tour-creates-impact-bonus-fund-based-on-players-who-positively-move-the-needle

https://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2021/4/20/asdf

[Peter Flory]

We think of the PGA tour as cemented in place, but it is somewhat fragile when you think about it when compared to other leagues.  The players are all free agents and could play in any competing tournament or tour that could be created.

And it doesn't seem overly difficult to set up a golf tournament.  The playing fields are already built and open to renting themselves out. 

In other sports with contracts and the need for stadiums, there are almost insurmountable barriers to entry for a competing league. 

[Pat Burke]

Isn't it just appearance money by another name?

Appearance money and a preemptive strike against the Premier Golf League

[Thomas Dai]

How about giving those who do well in the bonus pool extra Fed-Ex points (sic)!
Atb

[jeffwarne]

Isn't it just appearance money by another name?

That's exactly what it is.
same as wrestling.
Why not just hand out the script as well.
Reed vs. DeChambeau in a cage match in their underwear

[JESII]

But Jeff, that's the point. They do give the networks the script. I generally enjoy watching golf on TV but the constant fawning over Reed's "competitive" drive and BDC's "analytical" approach while avoiding their total doucheness is getting hard to take. Jordan's resurgence is another opportunity to fawn over a chosen one while he has his caddy literally pace his distance to the front of the green each time he's coming in from another fairway...this is several times per round btw. Tiger would have been the epic example of this on those rare instance of him playing a bad tournament and the network giving him more coverage than the leaders while 15 shots back.


There is absolutely a coordinated effort from PVB to highlight the people that the world is interested in.


The challenge the PGA Tour has is that they don't control any of the recognized premier events, the majors, so they have to react to threats and they clearly have the money.

[jeffwarne]

But Jeff, that's the point. They do give the networks the script. I generally enjoy watching golf on TV but the constant fawning over Reed's "competitive" drive and BDC's "analytical" approach while avoiding their total doucheness is getting hard to take. Jordan's resurgence is another opportunity to fawn over a chosen one while he has his caddy literally pace his distance to the front of the green each time he's coming in from another fairway...this is several times per round btw. Tiger would have been the epic example of this on those rare instance of him playing a bad tournament and the network giving him more coverage than the leaders while 15 shots back.


There is absolutely a coordinated effort from PVB to highlight the people that the world is interested in.


The challenge the PGA Tour has is that they don't control any of the recognized premier events, the majors, so they have to react to threats and they clearly have the money.

I'm with you 100% Jim, and I've posted many times about Jordan "expecting" the actual yardage from all points on the course, and being allowed to pace them off as "normal course of play" which they clearly are not. I posted about him at Carnoustie doing this on hole after hole(I was trying to get around his gallery to watch anyone else, but couldn't get past/away from his gallery-he just was everywhere in the crowd and two full holes behind-all because of his insistence on perfect crowd control, perfect lies and perfect distances-from way OFF the course).
Sometimes you just gotta chip out for pace of play reasons in the real world.

By controlling the script, I meant like actually planning for a Fowler major win-as in fixed events like wrestling.
This whole thing is a really slippery slope-and a loss of credibility for the Tour.

[JESII]

Interesting.


Well, from a rulings perspective, I have no doubt that the big names get better treatment than a journeyman. In addition, I've said several times in the roll back conversations that the Tour sets up their courses to favor bomb and gauge and then promote the hell out of the guys (bombers and Gaugers) that succeed in that style.


Did Rory take over as Head of the Player Advisory Board? Interesting first move if the timing syncs up.

[Jim Franklin]

Think of the help this money would do for new players on Korn Ferry Tour that barely make ends meet. What a shame.

[JESII]

Yes but Jim, the only reason the Korn Ferry Tour is a Tour is because people pay to watch the big tour...


#50 on KFT has made $135K through probably 60%- 70% of the season.

[Jeff Schley]

I don't like this announcement at all.  What is the alternative for top players they are afraid of? What value does it bring? The PGA Tour is already the preferred destination for most top players in the world, so was there some sort of competing tour idea being floated again?  Otherwise why is this needed for you already have the captive audience?

Curious is this jeopardizes the PGA Tour's status as a non profit status. They already only give less than 20% of each event on average to charity, which is well below the standard some classify as a responsible charity. This is further making a mockery of our tax laws with this additional expense. I'm all for charity and a big proponent of such, while about 200 million is donated in the last full year 2019 from a full schedule. I would hope the PGA Tour would look for ways to increase their charitable giving not cutting into the number by 20% and giving it to multi millionaires.

[Peter Pallotta]

Maybe we don't even have to play golf at all, or hold any tournaments. Instead of the data nerds looking at Strokes Gained Driving, Approach and Putting, they can crunch the Nielsen Brand Exposure, Q, and MVP ratings numbers for all the top stars and determine a winner, in 'virtual' time & space week after week. Put Jim Nantz in the broadcast booth, Brandel Chamblee back in the studio, and Dottie Pepper 'out of the course' and you have instant 'content' across several media platforms, with never a weather delay or the tedium of actually watching people play golf. Pay the stars a billion dollars (they're worth it) and give us a way to bet on the outcomes (it's more fun when fans have some skin in the game) and I see a real winning formula!!

[jeffwarne]

Maybe we don't even have to play golf at all, or hold any tournaments. Instead of the data nerds looking at Strokes Gained Driving, Approach and Putting, they can crunch the Nielsen Brand Exposure, Q, and MVP ratings numbers for all the top stars and determine a winner, in 'virtual' time & space week after week. Put Jim Nantz in the broadcast booth, Brandel Chamblee back in the studio, and Dottie Pepper 'out of the course' and you have instant 'content' across several media platforms, with never a weather delay or the tedium of actually watching people play golf. Pay the stars a billion dollars (they're worth it) and give us a way to bet on the outcomes (it's more fun when fans have some skin in the game) and I see a real winning formula!!

Move the needle.
They better pay the estate of Arnie about a billion$$


I was attracted to golf after years of playing team sports because you never had to deal with the 'Coach's son" syndrome, favorites, kids who don't pass, politics and bad attitudes bringing the whole team down, bad teams, bad Coaches, bad fans, etc.etc.
personal responsibility-no judges-just a score that you alone were responsible for.


Now they're paying for "moving the needle"
If I were a Top 10 player I'd get a good costume

[John Kavanaugh]

To paraphrase someone else:


The guys on the Korn Ferry are not paid too little, the guys on Tour are paid too much.

[Kalen Braley]

Think of the help this money would do for new players on Korn Ferry Tour that barely make ends meet. What a shame.

Completely agreed here Jim, it is a shame.

Most of the guys who were approached by the PGL have already turned them down, and at this point in their careers, I suspect most are more interested in their legacy over making a few more bucks at unknown events/venues with limited fields and having to travel to god knows where.  Not to mention the big $$$ they're already making from sponsorships beyond tour winnings.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Think of the help this money would do for new players on Korn Ferry Tour that barely make ends meet. What a shame.

Completely agreed here Jim, it is a shame.

Most of the guys who were approached by the PGL have already turned them down, and at this point in their careers, I suspect most are more interested in their legacy over making a few more bucks at unknown events/venues with limited fields and having to travel to god knows where.  Not to mention the big $$$ they're already making from sponsorships beyond tour winnings.

The TOUR had a chance to make the Korn Ferry Tour even more desirable. It blew it.

[John Kavanaugh]

As a long time member of a course that hosts a Korn Ferry tournament I can assure you that no one cares. Where does it end? How many golfers in the world deserve a free ride to chase their dream?


The one argument I could accept would be an affirmative action program to weed out the rich white guys.

[JESII]

The notion that one of these guys would prefer to win $1.5M at Torrey Pines than $4M in Dubai is ludicrous. Their legacy is based on majors, not run of the mill Tour events and the PGA Tour doesn't control them in any way. Exemptions into those majors would follow where the players are, not the other way around. The PGL is a serious threat to the PGA Tour and this is a not off-base response.






Tommy, do you think there is a single player in the world that's eligible for the Korn Ferry Tour that doesn't play it? Other than the 50 or so Europeans that the Korn Ferry Tour would love to pull over...