Pay To Play: World Golf Championships Need Improvement

Are The WGC Events Becoming Also-Rans?

The World Golf Championships (WGC) “already have become stale” after six seasons, and “something needs to be done to resurrect” the series, according to the AP’s Doug Ferguson. Ferguson: “Even with the inflated prize money, it’s getting hard to distinguish between them and most other PGA Tour events.” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem: “We just have a few issues that need to be corrected.” When the WGC began in ’99, the prize money was $5M with $1M going to the winner, the only seven-figure payoff at an official PGA Tour tournament. The only events that offered more than $3M in prize money were the majors, TPC and the Tour Championship, but now “there are 25 tournaments worth at least” $5M, and 11 players already have earned at least $1M for victories. Finchem: “I honestly don’t think money is the factor that will drive intensity. It’s what players hear about the tournaments, how fans feel about them. The fans want to hear it’s an important tournament.” But golfer and analyst Nick Faldo said, “The problem is, there are so many good events in America worth [$5-6M], that to jump on a plane and fly [to Ireland for the WGC] for $7[M] is ‘whoop-dee-doo.’ It’s almost like they need to make these $15[M] to get everyone’s attention” (AP, 10/6).