Financial rewards for many of the world’s highest profile sports people have reached levels that can only be described as obscene. When the Barclays Championship kicked off in New York on 21 August, it signalled the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs – an end-of-season extravaganza that, it could be argued, brings the game into disrepute.
The FedEx Cup is a season-long points competition that sees players accumulate FedEx points throughout the regular season. Come at the end of the regular season following the completion of the Wyndham Championship on 17 August 2014, the top 125 are given entry into the four-tournament playoff events. Those that don’t make it go to what used to be known as Q-School.
Winning a tournament is one thing, but a US$10-million bonus to boot?
The Playoffs feature a progressive cut, beginning with The Barclays in New York (125 players), continuing with the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston (100 players) and the BMW Championship in Denver (70 players). A reset of points accumulated takes place, seeding the top-30 players for the culminating Tour Championship in Atlanta, where the FedEx Cup champion is crowned.
So, for the four-week period beginning Thursday 21 August, we will have an ever-reducing field fight their way to the Tour Championship final. Each of these four events carries prize money of $8-million. The winner of each receives 1.44-million. Last year Adam Scott picked up his 1.44-million by winning the Barclays. Zach Johnson won the same by winning the BMW Championship. Henrik Stenson, however, won both the Deutsche Bank Championship and the Tour Championship for winnings of 2.88-million. But it doesn’t stop there.
In an attempt to maintain TV ratings in the face of stern competition from other sports, particularly the start of the NFL, the PGA Tour added what some say is extra spice – in the form of bonus payments. As if 32-million paid out over the space of four weeks isn’t enough, an extra 35-million is put up for grabs, depending upon the golfer’s finishing positon after the final event.
Last year, Henrik Stenson received an extra 10-million for finishing with the most FedEx points at the completion of the last event – meaning he collected 12.88 million for his efforts over the four-week playoff period. The entire bonus pool of 35-million is distributed as shown in the table herewith.
It would appear that the winner’s purse paid to those that win any of these four tournaments – nigh-on one and a half a million – is not enough. So, let’s throw in another ten-million on top.
Is this degree of extravagance warranted? Does the golfer who has just won, say, 1.44-million, get more kicks out of another 10-million, or is he happy enough with the fact that he won the tournament. For most at this level I would venture to suggest that the win is more important than the bonus money – given he is already a multi-millionaire.
But what does this amount of bonus say about the Tour? That they associate huge bonus pay-outs with sporting achievement? And what does it say about the Tour’s value system – the system that attempts to make role-models of all professional golfers?
To some, the end-of-season playoff format stinks of avarice in that it promotes a level of materialism not hitherto seen. Sure the Tour does its bit for charity, as its PR people continually advise. But if they were really serious about philanthropy why not make the bonuses available to a charity of the golfer’s choice? The winner, who has just received 1.44-million, gets to feel really good as he proudly announces that the charity he supports is now 10-million better off. Even the charity of the fifth-ranked finisher would receive in excess of $1-million.
Then the Tour really could be described as philanthropic.
Two weeks after the playoffs finish the top American and European players will be playing in the Ryder Cup, in Scotland. To make either team is considered huge in terms of golfing status. And the financial reward that accompanies selection? Apart from a $50,000 tax rebate against expenses – zero, zilch, nothing!
What, one wonders, will be the fall-off in the standard of golf due to the fact the players are not getting paid? About as much as the increase in standard seen when playing in a tournament that has a filthy big bonus – nothing.
The excessiveness of the FedEx Cup bonus system does not, in my view, portray the PGA Tour in its best light.
Golfnutter
| FedEx Cup prize money in 2014 | |||||
| Pos. | Amount | Pos. | Amount | Pos. | Amount |
| 1 | $10,000,000 | 11 | $300,000 | 21 | $220,000 |
| 2 | $3,000,000 | 12 | $290,000 | 22 | $215,000 |
| 3 | $2,000,000 | 13 | $280,000 | 23 | $210,000 |
| 4 | $1,500,000 | 14 | $270,000 | 24 | $205,000 |
| 5 | $1,100,000 | 15 | $250,000 | 25 | $200,000 |
| 6 | $800,000 | 16 | $245,000 | 26 | $195,000 |
| 7 | $700,000 | 17 | $240,000 | 27 | $190,000 |
| 8 | $600,000 | 18 | $235,000 | 28 | $185,000 |
| 9 | $550,000 | 19 | $230,000 | 29 | $180,000 |
| 10 | $500,000 | 20 | $225,000 | 30 | $175,000 |
| 31 | $165,000 | 41 | $134,000 | 51 | $120,000 |
| 32 | $155,000 | 42 | $133,000 | 52 | $115,000 |
| 33 | $150,000 | 43 | $132,000 | 53 | $114,000 |
| 34 | $145,000 | 44 | $131,000 | 54 | $113,000 |
| 35 | $142,000 | 45 | $130,000 | 55-70 | $110,000 |
| 36 | $140,000 | 46 | $129,000 | 91-80 | $80,000 |
| 37 | $138,000 | 47 | $128,000 | 81-100 | $75,000 |
| 38 | $137,000 | 48 | $127,000 | 101-125 | $70,000 |
| 39 | $136,000 | 49 | $126,000 | 126-150 | $32,000 |
| 40 | $135,000 | 50 | $125,000 | TOTAL | $35,000,000 |
