Question speaks for itself. Would you rather win a regular field PGA Tour event as a pro, or the US Amateur?

I'd take the US Amateur...especially if I was still in my youth....Its a National Championship, winning gets you into the US Open, The Open Championship, and the Masters.....It tends to be a pretty decent springboard to the pros if you've got the game and gets some endorsement $$ rolling in early....

I'll take the million dollar check please. If the PGA win was as an amateur, I would go the other way, for all the reasons that Mr. Hairpie suggests. BTW your pic and name are creepy when combined. Just saying.

Money Talks, PGA is where it's at.

Who doesn't want to win a million some odd dollars?

US Amateur for me!

Have to go with a tour win

Winning the US-Am would (or could) lead to bigger things, but nothing is certain, I'll take the PGA money please.

It's a hard one to me, a million bucks and the resulting Tour-card are very nice... but I also fancy the US-Amateur. First of all like Hairpie said it gets you in three of the four majors. The other thing is imagine, that you might have beaten the "Next Tiger Woods" or so, I think that would be a very nice story aswell.

I think I'll take the US-Amateur and after that continue to win the majors

Give me a PGA title. My job and hobby are the same thing. Earning a cool million in a win, a 2 year exemption allows you some flexibility. The Amateur is nice, but you still need to have another job to earn a living if you are an amateur.

Give me the PGA win. The check and the tour exemption and the sponsorships from the win can put some money in the bank. You can always get the amateur status back.

Heck, Dillard Pruitt won a PGA Tour event, then got his amateur status back and won the Canadian Amateur.

Money + exemption trumps U.S. Amateur.

i'll take the US Amateur...it's like a major.

I have a pretty good day job for now, so at this moment in my life, I would definitely take the US Amateur. Not saying that a PGA tour win with the money and exemptions would not be better than my day job. Hell, one win would be several years salaries for me. But, the opportunity to play in the US Open, the British Open (yes, to most Americans it IS the British open, you'll just have to get over that), and the Masters, for me, would far outweigh the PGA tour win. I play for the love of the game, and what better experience could there be in this game?

US Amateur is a Major Championship so I'll take that anyday

Yep. Put my name with the rest of the greats and get me in to the Masters and I'd probably retire.

-mini

Cash Rules Everything Around Me

Winning the U.S Am would be amazing, but in the words of Randy Moss "Straight Cash Homey" LOL i'd have to go with the near or million plus pay day, It would open more doors in life , if in fact golf isn't your chosen path. Imagine being able to live on $50,000 a year tax free for 13 years while you decide what your true career path will be or 100k for 6.5 etc etc.

I'll take a million bucks and a two year exemption please!

I'd rather win the PGA event as an amateur and not get paid than win the US Amateur. The status of smaller PGA events is probably lower, but I would still rather win against the best in the world instead of the best amateurs.

Not one person here would choose the US Am if they were actually forced to choose. It's easy to say you'd pick the US AM because you know you'll never have to actually make the decision.

Plus if you won a PGA event you're more than likely going to get into some of the Majors. You'd have to mess something up pretty bad not to.

The US Am IS a major. Given the choice of playing in a major, or winning one, I'll take the win.

EDIT....and the US Am winner get to play in a few majors also, not to mention a lifetime invite to the Master's par 3 contest.

Sorry to burst your bubble but i'll take the US or British Am any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Why, because I am a golfer first, it's not about the money. The US Am and the British Am are about the golf and nothing else. It is the pinnacle of golf for an amateur and is the one major championship for amateurs only.

Which, incidentally, is also what I believe Olympic Golf should be - for amateurs

Probably not a good idea to claim you know the minds of everyone here.

I'm sure he doesn't mean everyone but majority of people will choose money. I would too. It's hard to say no to a million if the opportunity arise. If you can, you're more successful than I.

which comes first the chicken or the egg??

if you win the us am your gonna win some tour events down the road.
no reason to get ahead of yourself if your that good.

I'm actually amazed that so many would just go for the $$$.....

I'll still take the US Am...Its a major for cryin' out loud....Not to mention having one's name etched forever on a trophy graced by the likes of Bobby Jones, Palmer, Nicklaus, Woods, et al.....

You guys can take the BC Open all the way to the bank....

Uh in case you guys forgot winning a tour event gets you into the masters... so the masters defense is moot...

Would you rather have 1 million dollars, and the ability to make money at the Masters (and pretty much every week for the next two years) or

US Am win, and you can't accept money at the Masters, US open and Open Championship

Not correct. Most PGA events will get you into the Masters, but not all of them.

According to the Masters website the qualifying criteria is: Winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship. So opposite field events and other fall events don't get you in.

PGA Event. Why?

1.) Money (Million or so dollars)

2.) A win on the PGA Tour is tougher versus the US Am, meaning you need to be a better golfer to win on the PGA Tour. Look at how many US Am champs havent won anything professionally

3.) Just because you win the US Am doesnt guarantee you'll make any big money later on

4.) Most PGA event wins also will get you into or far along the way to getting into the majors

5.) Two year excemption on PGA Tour

Not close, US Amateur. Prestige and satisfaction trump the blip PGA cash.

US Am for sure. Winning a major national championship would surely have sponsors drooling over you. Not to mention the invites to the Masters and US Open. Plus, if you can poke it around good enough to win the US am, I'm sure you can make a paycheck on The Tour at some point in your career.

For the prestige, the amateur.

If I was a pro, a PGA Tour event. Puts grub on the table.

You never specified what tour event, so I'm picking winning the Masters. You get the money, exemptions, guest spot on Letterman, and a lifetime pass to play Augusta.

I'd take a US Amateur Title over a "regular" PGA win.

If I got to pick where my PGA win would be and could win my hometown event, I'd take that. (with or without the money).

The Masters isn't a PGA Tour event. It like the 3 other majors is run by the respective organization that sponsors it. But I like the thinking. I'd take the Am all day long.

i like his thinking too. a couple of people were saying 'i will take the US-AM, and you can take your BC Foot Powder Canadian Championship (fill in your weak PGA event here)', but that kinda shows their imagination.

i'd take the PGA event, and it would be a prestigious event where I beat Tiger Woods, Phil, Sergio, VJ, fill in top 10 world ranked golfers here. that is something to brag about where I beat Tiger Woods, rather then having my name on a trophey with Tiger Woods.

I should have specified. By "regular" I meant not only not a major, but an event where the biggest name might be the 15th ranked player in the world. Like was mentioned earlier, something like the now defunct B.C. Open.

Thanks for all the replies, I have to admit I'm a little bit surprised by the way the voting is going, thought the AM would take it.

If I was wealthy I would take the Amatuer. Jack Nicklaus even said himself that he viewed his two US Am's as majors. VERY hard to win a US amatuer.