Andrew Johnston slams ‘crazy’ PGA Tour over Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s loyalty bonuses
Andrew Johnston slams ‘crazy’ PGA Tour over Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s loyalty bonuses
Andrew “Beef” Johnston has criticized the PGA Tour for its commitment to player equality and the emphasis on prize money in professional competitions, saying the tour is no different from LIV Golf.
Andrew Johnston thinks the PGA Tour is alienating fans
Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston says the increased focus on money in professional golf after the PGA Tour handed out tens of millions of pounds in bonuses to top stars has caused “huge damage” to the sport. He says he is.
The tour last month awarded equity to players as it continues its efforts to fend off the LIV Golf threat. Since its inception two years ago, some of the tour’s biggest stars have been lured with big contracts from breakaway leagues, and players are taking stakes in PGA Tour Enterprises to prevent another exodus.
Stock awards were determined by “career points.” This is a metric created by the PGA Tour to track a player’s performance and contribution to the competition over the years. Tiger Woods was the big winner, taking home stakes worth around £80 million.
Rory McIlroy received shares worth around £40 million, while Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth also received deals worth around £25 million. The stock vests over an eight-year period and is likely to increase in value, so if a player wants to reap the financial benefits of the stock payment, he or she must remain a member of the PGA Tour for the entire period.
The move is aimed at encouraging players to resist the lure of LIV Golf, its huge contracts and prize pools, but former DP World Tour winner Johnston said the finance-centric discourse surrounding the sport is believes that it is harmful to the game. “I’m starting to wonder how the PGA Tour differs from LIV Golf,” he writes in Today\’s Golfer. “When LIV comes on and Jay Monaghan says he prides himself on the fact that his tour is a meritocracy with a clear path for his players and their performance is rewarded. I remember that. For the latest news, politics, sports and showbiz from across the US, visit The Mirror US.
“Fast forward to today, we have a player equity programme which gives huge amounts of money to players depending on their loyalty. Tiger gets $100 million, Rory gets $50 million, and Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth get $30 million each.
“Essentially, this is the PGA Tour saying, ‘Let’s take a lot of money from us because we didn’t take a lot of money from them.'” It’s crazy, a man. Everything was a reward for the top of the game, which came from the gap. That’s very bad for our sport.”
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf have struggled to attract large crowds this season, as evidenced by one of the lowest attendances for the final round of the Masters in history. Johnston believes all the talk about money is keeping fans away. LIV Golf announces transfer window that may affect star players with expiring contracts
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“Everyone I talk to about golf thinks the money comes before the players perform, and that’s harmful,” he continued. “The gap in golf discourages people.
“When the Masters numbers go down, you know things aren’t going well. It’s a Masters where everyone comes together, there’s a Tiger game, there’s great seeding, and the most dominant player in the game wins again. “The game has become tense and defensive. It’s similar to soccer. Players have to have a good season at the club or risk leaving, and as a reward they have to increase their value or increase their value. The club gets this huge contract to keep it at a high level.
