D3ST Board Member and PGA Tour Pro Nick O'Hern reflects on the massive growth in money earnings for the top players, win or lose.
“Money, money, money… must be funny… in the rich man’s world.” ABBA’s famous tune would certainly be a suitable theme song for professional golf right now. Since LIV Golf came along to challenge the PGA Tour, money has been the never-ending topic of conversation. And so, it was once again at the FedEx Cup Tour Championship recently when Viktor Hovland took home a cool $18 million first place prize, the PGA Tour’s largest payout ever equalling Rory McIlroy’s check from last year’s finale. The Norwegian played a masterful final round for an emphatic 5-shot win over Xander Schauffele. Don’t feel too bad for Xander though, his $6.5m runner up check should ease the pain. It’s crazy how the game has changed since Phil Mickelson called the Saudis “scary mother f@%kers” a couple of years ago.
It seems golf has caught up with other sports such as baseball and basketball where players are guaranteed massive amounts of money to compete. And, like baseball and basketball, they don’t even have to play well to earn this money after signing on the dotted line. During my playing days, and what I’ve aways loved about golf, was its performance based. Play well, you make the cut and get paid. If not, you miss the cut and pack your bags without earning a dime. Plus, your bank account goes down from all the expenses incurred. Miss a few cuts in a row and you begin to question whether being on tour is for you. Cutthroat? Absolutely.
But that’s the nature of the game and pitting your skills against the course and other players is why pros get up in the morning to grind it out on the range searching for ways to improve.
The ‘play well or go home’ mentality is why I’ve always enjoyed match play. There’s only one person to beat, and figuring out how really gets the juices flowing. Even now, with my tournament playing days behind me, the thought of beating someone (or two if I have a partner) still gets the blood going as a social golfer. And something must be on the line of course… lunch, a glass of wine, a few dollars… it doesn’t matter. Bragging rights and an exchange of the action afterwards always brings a smile to the face. It’s all well and good having a punt (wager) on something or someone else, but there’s no sweeter feeling than a win after backing yourself to bring home the chocolates. And hey, if not, it’s called a rematch.
My competitive nature expands to pretty much everything I do, much to the chagrin of my better half (wife) at times. Ping pong, shooting pool, tennis, who can catch the biggest fish, even seeing how many times I can skim a rock on water! The list, as you can tell, seems endless. It’s why I’m so excited to be part of D3 Sports Tech who have developed a digital peer-to-peer wagering wallet for seemingly what I’ve always done – compete. D3 Sports Tech began with our founder’s love of golf and it’s now forging the way ahead in the skills-based wagering industry. Play for something, and feel the spirit of competition make your challenge a little more interesting.
Just let me know when you’re up for a match.
Nick.
WEB: D3sportstech.com
LinkedIn: @d3-sports-tech
Mail: info@D3sportstech.com