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Morning 9: Do top players feel cheated? | Phil on Distance Report | Ogilvy: More men & women tourneys, please

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6 years ago

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1. Discontent at the top 
Geoff Shackelford pulled this juicy morsel from Bob Harig’s breakdown of the PGR and offered his own take…”Said an agent who wished not to be identified: “How can an organization negotiate hundreds of millions of dollars of TV contracts and someone like Tiger or Rory goes out and has the same chance of making the same money as some guy who has come off the Korn Ferry Tour? There is no arbitration panel. And no judge would say that is a fair economic model.”
  • [Shackelford] “Right or wrong, that has always been a successful model of the PGA Tour. Golf fans have enjoyed the democratic nature of the sport, including the occasional unknown taking down a star. In return, the star has benefited from the opportunity to play via endorsement income that the Tour does not see one penny of after giving them a platform.”
  • “But in recent years a few things have changed. The schedule is now year-round and the stars are increasingly asked to tee it up more, including “playoffs” after major season when they would like to be recharging their batteries. The top players are called up every year to play a Cup event. In return? A small donation to their pet cause and free merch they’ll never wear again.”
2. Phil on Distance Report
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…”Phil Mickelson read the USGA and R&A’s distance report that was released Tuesday and took his share of jabs at golf’s governing bodies during his pre-tournament press conference on the eve of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.”
“Mickelson’s biggest beef with the report, which expressed concern for distance gains becoming “unsustainable,” was his opposition to what he perceives as punishing athletes for getting better.”
“I don’t think that we have had massive equipment changes. We have just had athletes that have been able to take advantage of the equipment more so than in the past. And I hate to see that discouraged,” Mickelson said. “You look at what Bryson (DeChambeau) has done getting in the gym, getting after it, lifting weights, and hitting bombs, and now he’s – now you’re talking about trying to roll it back because he’s made himself a better athlete. So, I don’t know if I agree with that. But I also don’t really understand the whole scope of how it affects the game and how it affects agronomy and golf courses and so forth, so I’m not sure I’m the best one to really comment on it. I just know from the small little bubble of the PGA Tour, I hate seeing the athletes be punished or discouraged from continuing to work and get better.”
3. Billy blames developers
The text of an interesting pair of tweets from Billy Horschel…
  • “I was presented with a vast research a few years that showed in the 90s courses that started being built were being built dramatically longer that before. Developers wanted championship courses. It was believed to be a championship course you had to have length. Also, developers.”
  • “…wanted more room for houses. The course designers who built these courses went along with the developer because they were being paid a nice sum. So courses were being built longer so OEM had to figure a better way to increase distance quickly. Driver improves. ProV1 is produced.”
4. Why the Pro-Am matters
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell…”While the pro-am format isn’t a favorite for some PGA Tour pros who choose to bypass the event, Phil Mickelson and Graeme McDowell explained this week why they enjoy it so much, and why pros who skip it are missing out.”
  • “Early in my career, I did miss it a few times, but as I got older I realized what an important event this is in developing relationships with a lot of the decision makers and key players in the game of golf, and developing these kind of emotional connections that lead to better decisions as far as supporting the game,” said Mickelson, a five-time winner at Pebble Beach. “It gets companies and CEOs more inclined to support the game of golf.”
  • “Now, it’s not for everybody,” Mickelson says of the pro-am experience. “So, I understand when guys don’t want to do it . . . But for me, I’ve always enjoyed it and actually have played some of my best golf when I’m partnered with very interesting players.”
5. Ogilvy calls for more mixed gender tournaments
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”However, while there are a handful of mixed-gender events-most notably, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam are set to host the Scandinavian Mixed this June-the approach has yet to receive global acceptance. According to former U.S. Open champ Geoff Ogilvy, it is time golf’s governing bodies get with the program.”
  • “There’s more than just guys, you know. It just makes sense,” Ogilvy said at the Vic Open. “We should do this more often. The fact that this happens only once in a year is just nonsense.”
  • “Ogilvy, known as one of the premier player-scholars in the game, spoke of experience at last year’s event and how it spurred admiration for his female counterparts.”
  • “All I wanted to do was watch the women and how they went about it,” Ogilvy explained. “Some of them are just machines, they don’t hit bad shots and they hit hybrids on to the green to 10 feet all day.
6. DJ poised
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell on Dustin Johnson gearing up for 2020…”Johnson’s painful finish to 2019 wasn’t so funny. He missed the final three months while recovering from arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. After a second-place finish at the PGA Championship in May, he didn’t have another top-10 finish the rest of the year.”
  • “I blame it on my knee hurting,” Johnson said.
  • “Johnson said the knee no longer hurts, but he can feel the repair when his left leg braces hard, as it does when he’s hitting a shot off an uphill lie. He said even though there’s no pain, his brain tells him to ease off.”
7. Mickelson won’t accept U.S. Open exemption
AP report…”The U.S. Open occasionally awards a special exemption to the game’s best players when they are not eligible. Ernie Els has received such an exemption each of the last two years. Jack Nicklaus received eight of them.”
  • “Mickelson, who has won five majors, is certain to receive at least one if he needs it…But he made clear Tuesday he doesn’t want one.”
  • “I won’t accept it,” Mickelson said at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he won last year for his 44th career PGA Tour victory. “So I am either going to get in the field on my own or I’ll have to try to qualify. I’m not going to take a special exemption.”
8. The Dame is 2 back!
AP report…”English veteran Laura Davies played her first competitive round in six months, because of her mother’s illness, and shot a 6-under 67 to be two shots off the lead at the LPGA-sanctioned Vic Open.”
  • “The tournament features male and female pros teeing off in alternate groups on two courses….The 56-year-old Davies played the Creek course at the 13th Beach Golf Links. She birdied five of seven holes on her final nine – the front nine – but bogeyed her second-last to fall behind the leaders.”
9. Why was it great?
Wanted to point y’all in the direction of an excellent video by our Ryan Barath discussing the popularity of one of my favorite clubs of all time: the Titleist PT fairway wood.

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Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Ryan

    Feb 9, 2020 at 11:12 am

    Disconnected at the top?! Come on man, these guys live a life of luxury. Their stardom can earn them money from sponsorships, but the PGA in no way should be put in a position to have to pay them to show up. Its a sport, you want to make money, show up and play the game

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How much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship

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Aaron Rai upset the odds to win his first major championship on Sunday at Aronimink, firing a final round of 5-under par to see off his competitors and claim the winner’s check for $3,690,000.

Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley were the best of the chasing pack, with both men sharing runner-up spot which was good enough for each to receive a check for $1,804,000.

With a total prize purse of $20.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship.

Players who missed the PGA Championship cut each received $4,300 each.

1: Aaron Rai, $3,690,000

T2 : Jon Rahm, $1,804,000

T2 : Alex Smalley, $1,804,000

T4: Justin Thomas, $843,866

T4: Ludvig Aberg, $843,866

T4: Matti Schmid, $843,866

T7: Cameron Smith, $637,050

T7: Rory McIlroy, $637,050

T7: Xander Schauffele, $637,050

T10: Kurt Kitayama, $496,707

T10: Chris Gotterup, $496,707

T10: Justin Rose, $496,707

T10: Patrick Reed, $496,707

T14: Matt Fitzpatrick, $364,762

T14: Scottie Scheffler, $364,762

T14: Max Greyserman, $364,762

T14: Ben Griffin, $364,762

T18: Maverick McNealy, $229,128

T18: Jordan Spieth, $229,128

T18: Stephan Jaeger, $229,128

T18: Padraigh Harrington, $229,128

T18: David Puig, $229,128

T18: Harris English, $229,128

T18: Min Woo Lee, $229,128

T18: Joaquin Niemann, $229,128

T26: Nick Taylor, $125,523

T26: Alex Noren, $125,523

T26: Cameron Young, $125,523

T26: Andrew Novak, $125,523

T-26: Daniel Hiller, $125,523

T26: Tom Hoge, $125,523

T26: Sam Burns, $125,523

T26: Hideki Matsuyama, $125,523

T26: Bud Cauley, $125,523

T35: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $78,805

T35: Patrick Cantlay, $78,805

T35: Ryo Hisatsune, $78,805

T35: Daniel Berger, $78,805

T35: Ryan Fox, $78,805

T35: Haotong Li, $78,805

T35: Aldrich Potgieter, $78,805

T35: Si Woo Kim, $78,805

T35: Martin Kaymer, $78,805

T44: Chris Kirk, $53,743

T44: Matt Wallace, $53,743

T44: Shane Lowry, $53,743

T44: Jhonattan Vegas, $53,743

T44: Denny McCarthy, $53,743

T44: Chandler Blachet, $53,743

T44: Taylor Pendrith, $53,743

T44: Dustin Johnson, $53,743

T44: Nicolai Hojgaard, $53,743

T44: Michael Kim, $53,743

T44: Kristoffer Reitan, $53,743

T55: Collin Morikawa, $34,186

T55: Corey Conners, $34,186

T55: Andrew Putnam, $34,186

T55: Brooks Koepka, $34,186

T55: Mikael Lindberg, $34,186

T60: Sami Valimaki, $29,218

T60: Sahith Theegala, $29,218

T60: Rico Hoey, $29,218

T60: Rickie Fowler, $29,218

T60: Brian Harman, $29,218

T65: Casey Jarvis, $26,900

T65: Jason Day, $26,900

T65: Rasmus Hojgaard, $26,900

T65: Keith Mitchell, $26,900

T65: Sam Stevens, $26,900

T70: Luke Donald, $25,070

T70: Ryan Gerard, $25,070

T70: John Parry, $25,070

T70: William Mouw, $25,070

T70: Kazuki Higa, $25,070

T75: Elvis Smylie, $24,158

T75: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, $24,158

T75: Alex Fitzpatrick, $24,158

T75: Daniel Brown, $24,158

79: John Keefer, $23,970

80: Ben Kern, $23,930

81: Michael Brennan, $23,910

82: Brian Campebll, $23,900

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