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Symetra pro opens up on the harsh financial realities of life on Tour

Published

2 years ago

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In the week that hundreds of thousands of dollars will be dished out to the highest-ranked player on many tours, including the LPGA, it is sobering to read the latest interview from Golf Monthly.

Hannah Gregg, a second-year professional and rookie on the developmental Symetra Tour, opened up about the tribulations of those at the lower levels, looking ahead to their futures and yet wondering, quite simply, how they will afford to cope.

“My annual expenses cost on average $50,000, and if you look at the purses on the development tours like the WAPT (Women’s All Pro Tour) – which is the highest paying feeder tour – the average winner walks away with $5-$7,000.” said Hannah.

“Expenses for a cheap tournament are generally $1,500-$2,000, so unless you finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd in every single event, you’re not going to make a profit.”

Put simply, “expecting to average top-three for an entire season is not feasible. Even the best players on tour miss cuts and have bad stretches.”

It’s not even a decent living if you do progress. Hannah explains, “…. when you do play well and start winning, you generally start moving up to the next level where travel and accommodation are even more expensive. Suddenly, you need to figure out how to pay a caddie”

The costs are, of course, not limited to the women’s game.

In March 2018, Hannah wrote for GolfWRX examining how much it costs to ‘chase the dream’ of professional golf and whilst nobody should ever deny that the elite players deserve every success, the warning signs are still there many months later.

Explaining in the more recent article how she has to use social media to obtain more sponsorship, Hannah freely discusses the main issues including getting that vital step onto the bigger platforms:

“Lots of girls stop playing because they can’t afford Q-School, which is the most expensive event of the year.” she says. “if you don’t play in that, then you have no Tour status and are left with very few events to play in. You get phased out and others just lap you.”

Last year, I spoke on my podcast to Hannah Holden of National Club Golfer (@HannahHoldenNCG) about the opening up of the women’s game and how attitudes are changing. Slowly, yes, but they are changing, and yet when I caught up with her today she again reiterated what she and many other prospective professionals have experienced.

“It is ridiculously expensive even for amateur golf. I can fork out over £6k to play a pretty small amateur schedule and have my golf lessons, S&C, physio etc… makes it very hard to keep playing if you don’t have anyone supporting you financially.

Even if you make a national team you are getting thousands of pounds of funding a year so people who just miss out on those spots are losing a great deal which is mad considering the last person in a squad and the first person to miss probably have very little splitting them.”

From a player that has been through the junior game and competes in various amateur events nowadays, as well as being involved with equipment manufacturers, this is another voice worth listening to.

“It is a lot more common for boys/men to get people sponsoring them just because the men’s tour game is more visible. Most top female amateur golfers don’t even give professional golf a try because it is so expensive yet so hard to make a living from.

It’s also a deep stem issue because from my experience with England development squads there is a noticeable difference in parents attitudes. Boys parents very much see it as a career and are more ingrained in it. For the girls, they see it as more of a hobby and not a viable career option, so even from a young age girls are disadvantaged in terms of buy in.”

It may be a coincidence that the Golf Monthly interview was published just days after the controversy surrounding the lack of coverage of the important and hugely exciting Pelican Women’s Championship, but I’ll leave it to Hannah Gregg to sum up.

“When it comes to making purses bigger and getting donations from sponsors, everyone has an excuse.

I always hear ‘well the women aren’t fun to watch’ but I’ve never understood that. The men weren’t popular to watch compared to the scale they are now. It takes years of marketing and people engaging with women’s sports for them to have a chance to succeed and grow. 

If people really want to help, we should start building up women’s sports and acknowledging that there is a quality product there. Help us raise money when you can, spread the word and find players that you like to watch and then follow their careers.

All of us love knowing that people out there are enjoying our journey and it makes even the struggles that much more enjoyable.”

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Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis

Published

6 hours ago

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May 9, 2024

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According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.

Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.

However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”

The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.

The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.

The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.

The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.

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Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf

Published

1 day ago

on

May 8, 2024

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On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.

“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”

Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.

“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.

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PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites

Published

1 day ago

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May 8, 2024

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This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.

PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.

“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”

“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”

“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”

Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.

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