2023 PGA Tour
- Thread starter cshea
- Start date
Wouldn't shock me at all if Jordan misses this after his great tee shot. Hope he doesn't, but wouldn't shock me.
Ugh that wasn't good at all. Now he needs a birdie on 18.
The Jordan Spieth Experience! (TM)
Poor guy has played great, hung tough all day in the final group, and he's about to implode on the 72nd.
Not even really implode as he hit one bad shot and got a TERRIBLE break that has just buried him.
I prefer to think he missed on purpose because Schenk needs the money with the baby on the way
It also got Schenk an extra 55 FedEx Cup points, which is the equivalent of finishing 15th in a regular event. That will help him quite a bit, he's up to 31st in the FedEx Cup and the top 50 this year automatically qualifing for all the designated events next season.
I have no idea of any of them think this way, but that would be amazing if Jordan actually did that. Shenk definitely needs the money more than Spieth does.
Schenk joined the tour in 2018 and has $6.6M in career earnings (165 events). He's not rolling in cash like some tour players but he's certainly making money, he just lacks a win.
Spieth had no idea, that stuff doesn't cross into the minds of the elite players. It's wins and losses to them, they don't consider the money or points. Spieth just always sucks at 3 footers (currently 190th on Tour from inside 3 feet).
Schenk is the type of guy who would maybe consider doing that, protecting 2nd or 3rd, but to his credit he hammered the par putt that would've gotten him into a playoff. As a rank and file grinder type, 3-putting and dropping a few places on the leaderboard would've been far more costly to him than it was to Spieth. But he went for it, all credit to him.
I think it would be terrible unless you're a top talent. I've seen guys go through it, it's a hard life.
I don't want to see a golf club for weeks after playing 5 straight days in Bandon. I couldn't imagine doing it week in and week out.
I don't want to see a golf club for weeks after playing 5 straight days in Bandon. I couldn't imagine doing it week in and week out.
It's definitely hard in many ways. TONS of travel, uncertain pay, being apart from your family...not easy.
But also...
You are (usually) playing golf in glorious venues, and usually in amazing weather. The pay is really good, for a ton of guys (not just the best). This year, just a handful of months in, the #150 player on the money list, M.J. Daffue, has earned $319,521. That's not much for a big time pro athlete, but compared to normal people, it's really good money. He is on pace for roughly, what, like $700,000 in prize money, plus endorsements (which adds revenue AND he gets his stuff for free). Not a bad way to make a living actually.
Did you play play Bandon Crossings at all, or just the resort courses? Crossings is a fun challenge
BUT… you have to pay for all of your travel and lodging at most (if not all) of the tournaments. Plus, paying your caddie and agent, probably trainer(s), coaches, etc…. I’d bet that he clears far, far less than $700k for the year. I’m sure he still does ok but the numbers above paint an incomplete picture.
That $700,000 really isn't a lot given their expenses. And that's working under the assumption that he keeps up his current level of play, which is not guarantee'd. He could miss every cut the rest of the way. He could get hurt tomorrow.
Daffue's caddie gets a chunk of the tournament earnings. There's also the traveling expenses for the Daffue and his caddie (my understanding is the pro pays for the caddie to travel). That's 25-30 weeks of travel expenses across the world for 2 people. Additionally, Daffue probably has a coach or two and maybe a trainer. They don't work for free. When it's all said and done, he probably clears a lot less than $700,000. Oh, and if he finishes 150th in the FedEx Cup he loses his job and heads back down to the KFT where the average season earnings last year was $71,000 and those guys still have the same expenses and the PGA Tour players. I'm guessing a guy like MJ Daffue isn't really getting much in the way of endorsements, either. Maybe he gets free clubs to wear a PING hat or something, but he's not getting a lucrative equipment spornsorship. And anyways, if he is getting something from an endorsement, he probably has a manager or agent that's also getting a chunk.
The top guys live the life but professional golf is an absolute grind for 99% of professional players. Max Homa, currently world #6, famously missed 15 of 17 cuts in one of his first years on Tour and made only $18,000 for the season. Those kind of success stories are few and far between, not many can go through that and come out on the other side.
Back to the earlier discussion about "protecting the game". I never understood why "get longer" was the solution to battle people hitting the ball further. So the long hitters go from hitting a 9i in to a 7i... meanwhile others end up hitting 5 or 4i's in. Why not make the courses shorter, tighter? More penal? I am thinking Colonial (maybe because I saw some of the Annika piece this weekend) - it favors those who hit the fairway/ hit greens. Make the game a wedge/putter battle a few times a year.
Caddies don't get paid unless players get paid, outside of their stipend for the week's travel expenses (usually around $5-7k). Their cut is usually 7-10% for a regular TOUR caddie (not a local pickup, which may be negotiated beforehand). Unlike other sports, agents don't get a cut of a player's winnings, just their endorsement money, appearance fees, etc. Most pros play in a lot of ProAms and corporate type events to earn a decent amount of extra money outside of official play. Even guys like MJ Daffue will also get more than just free clubs and balls from their endorsements. Companies want to lock up players before they are too expensive, so that means prospecting in the lower ranks of the PGA TOUR and lower tours. Anyone who is good enough to be on TOUR in the first place is good enough to have a breakthrough couple of weeks that make the investment worthwhile. It's not going to be millions or even hundreds of thousands, but it's more than just and some clubs. Hell, just the chance of your logo being on TV for a single highlight shot is worth some investment. Finally, as of last year, PGA TOUR players get a $500k minimum amount. That gets paid back from winnings if there any, but every player will get at least $500k in income.
We just stay on the resort.
Apparently there is a 19 hole executive course going in (saw them digging while I was there) and there is room for a couple more courses that are in the works.
Crossings is lots of fun if you have extra time. I just got the email about the 19 hole par 3 course going in between Trails and the ocean, basically just off of 1 and 2 and south of The Preserve. It's going to be super fun from the sounds of it. There's also a 6th 18 hole course going in south of town, but I don't think they've even made it through all of the permitting and such yet.
You can see the whole thing right off the tee box, saw a bunch of mock flags. Looked like a great spot
Also, they need more lodging and after golf spots to hang out. It was ridiculously crowded this time, just groups everywhere.
This. Obviously, I have a bit of experience with a Tour pro playing in that #150 range, and they do a lot better than just fine. Rob usually picks up a local caddy at most tournaments, so he isn't paying for caddy travel, etc. There are appearance fees, pro-am checks if they play the Wednesday practice round with a club member/local celeb, etc. Rob was sponsored by Marriott for a while, so he didn't pay hotel fees, he'd hitch rides on private jets with some of the other guys that had them, etc. Even in his early years on the Nationwide/WebMD/KFT tours, he'd get sponsorships from guys at our club that owned their own businesses, not huge money, but maybe 25k to wear a hat for a season and 50k for a logo on a shirt, etc. in the hopes he'd be in the hunt on the golf channel, get interviewed, etc.
And after 5 years on Tour (he's at 4 right now, needs one more), you get the pension.
It's a grind, but man, there isn't much of a better life if you love golf. Those guys are making a great living to do what they'd be doing in their spare time and spending a fortune to do it anyway, like we do.
Last Match Play, at least for the near future, tees off today. Kinda bummed we are losing it, even with the clunky format I enjoy the week and especially the golf course as a match play venue.
Agreed. I mean, of course it's a grind. So is being an NFL player. So is working in a coal mine. So is being a 1st grade teacher. So is being a heavy construction equipment salesperson. So is....basically any job that requires real work. (not saying all jobs are the same; just that most careers...yeah, are a grind)
So if I'm going to grind, I may as well grind doing something I love (golf), in beautiful places, with a chance to make really good money (compared to, say, the 1st grade teacher).
The resurgent Rickie beat Rahm 2&1.
Twitter tells me he needs roughly a quarterfinals appearance to get an invite to Augusta.
Twitter tells me he needs roughly a quarterfinals appearance to get an invite to Augusta.
That's awesome. I knew he had been playing well to start the season, but I didn't think he was anywhere close to the OWGR top 50. He ended 2022 in 103rd, but now he's up to 59th! The LIV players lapsing out definitely help him, but surprising nonetheless. I don't have the numbers in front of me (last year's FedEx Cup standings are hard to track down) but I don't think he would have kept his tour card if it were not for LIV defections.
Cam Young on the front 9 so far through 10 holes played in 2 matches. 10 holes, all 3's. -9 under in total. Absurd.
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