A golf professional plays for a few reasons, for the love of the game and to compete, but also for the money. Golf is a career for these guys, their way of income. The big names we all know have been on top of the of money list many times:
Career Earnings:
Tiger Woods- $82,449,376
Phil Mickelson- $51,827,191
Vijay Singh- $60,863,812
But what about those who haven't? Is it worth it to keep playing on tour even with the economy as bad as it is and with the PGA TOUR losing sponsorships? I was on pgatour.com searching through player profiles looking at how much they've made year-to-year and in their career. I clicked the scroll bar and moved my mouse over a random name, someone I have never heard of:
Tag Ridings:
Turned Pro: 1997
Career Earnings on the PGA TOUR- $3,019,770
Career Earnings on the NationwideTour $324,226
So since Tag turned pro in 1997 he has played in 140 PGA events and 49 Nationwide events and has earned $3,343,996, averaging $303,999.63 per year excluding 2009. I'd take that. He hasn't had the glory and the fame of winning multiple times on either tour (only winning once on the Nationwide Tour and none on the PGA TOUR) like the big names have, but has earned a decent living doing what he loves. That's all I need to hear.
This should prove to the players with dreams and aspirations of playing professionally that there is a chance to make a good living out on tour even without winning. Just a few top 10's and top 25's will get you a good paycheck for 4 days at the office. If you keep up the hard work and practice it takes, the wins will come. Look at Pat Perez:
Turned Pro: 1997
Career Earnings on the PGA TOUR- $9,260,666
Pat has played in 203 events on the PGA TOUR and his first win came this year, 2009, at the 50th Bob Hope Classic.
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Personally, I would love to make a career out of playing golf. For a few years, I even thought about pursuing such a career. However, after talking to a few club pros, many of whom had the same aspirations, I came to the conclusion that school would be my best avenue. While there are a lot of people who aspire to make it onto some tour, only a select few ever actually make it. One problem I encountered was the initial cost of playing in tournaments. The tournament fees, the cost of traveling to tournaments, and the main cost of sacrificing a job in order to have plenty of time to put in the amount of necessary practice. These problems hold true at least until a golfer can pick up at least one sponsor, but preferably more. But I have seen some of the same profiles you have seen. A multitude of players I had never heard of who have somehow managed to make a very nice living by playing under the mainstream radar. I find it amazing, even as sponsors are cutting back, how many people can make so much money doing something that I now do just for fun.
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