The DP World Tour’s financial struggles have been a topic of discussion for a long time. The inability of the European golf circuit to find reliable and long-term event sponsors has had a major impact on pros loyal to their local region. Even after some of the biggest European events, the DP World Tour Championship 2024 saw a $10 million purse. Even the LPGA Tour, which has had far more struggles to find broadcast partners and losing sponsors, had a much more lucrative payout in their premier events. Well, Tiger Woods had once made sure the PGA tour stayed afloat.

On the opposite end, LIV Golf, still struggling to gain viewership, has provided a far more exciting paycheck to tournament winners. Then comes the PGA Tour, which seems to have a superiority in terms of sponsorship favor. The premier golf league, based in the U.S.A. has consistently pulled amazing sponsorship deals for its signature events. However, as per a recent podcast with insiders, the myth about the financial security of the PGA Tour burst like a “bubble”.

Bob Harig joined Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme for The Smylie Show podcast to discuss troubling issues. The primary focus of the conversation was the ongoing deal between LIV Golf and DP World Tour.

During the conversation, the 1X PGA Tour winner raised an interesting question to Bob. He led with “We talked a lot about how the DP World Tour struggles from a financial standpoint getting top players.” Then Smylie pointed, “In all the conversations we’ve just had, it would make it seem like the PGA Tour is in a great spot.” After talking about how the PGA Tour players are making a lot of money, he added, “When you look at the landscape of professional ratings, how much it costs as a sponsor to come in to be a PGA Tour title sponsor.”

Finally, Smylie asked the question of the hour, “Do you feel like there is a bubble right now for the PGA Tour and could it burst?” He suggested that if the purse value drops from the $25 million norm for signature events, it would seem like “the sky is falling”.

Bob agreed that it’s a tough spot for the PGA Tour. But then he elaborated on how the Tour has done a remarkable job of gradually increasing the purse value. He shared that even during the 2007 recession, the PGA Tour didn’t succumb to the pressure and continued to grow the purse for its events. However, Bob pointed out an interesting fact “The Tour did lower purses in the fall,” as he talked about how every FedEx Fall Season event purse except the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship was decreased. He stated, “There was a bit of a correction there, and that probably should have happened.”

Bob Harig justified the PGA Tour’s approach to fall events, not offering many ratings or star players. However, he did agree with Smylie about the bubble being “real”. Harig explained the sponsor pays much more than the purse value of the event as he compared the situation from a few years ago where the total investment for the sponsors was nearly half of what it is now. These events don’t even get that much viewership as he mentioned that the “TV ratings are a little flat” and it’s quite expensive for the sponsors.

Harig assumed that “There was this notion that golfers were underpaid. Especially when you consider that there is no guaranteed money in the sport,” as he shared the example of the impact of Tiger Woods on events. “He would bring so much attention to an event, they would sell out all the tickets he was entered. Sell corporate hospitality, TV ratings would double. But on Thursday morning, he was guaranteed zero,” said Bob as he stated that no other athlete had such an enormous influence on all the factors. But now, it’s not easy to sell out, and hence, sponsors need to make due by investing more to sponsor the events.

It’s an interesting take on how golf has transitioned from the Tiger Woods era. While the growth is evident, a lot of financial liability now falls onto the sponsors. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at how the purse value has grown from the last time Tiger Woods won a major in 2019 to now.

Tiger Woods’s payout for the 2019 Masters win

We are going to compare the prize money for the four majors to get a better understanding of the purse increase. In the 2019 Masters Tournament, Tiger Woods & Co. competed for a purse of $11.5 million. When Scottie Scheffler wore the green jacket in 2024, he received a part of a $20 million payout. The prize money has nearly doubled for the Augusta National event. The 2019 U.S. Open was played for a $12.5 million purse, compared to 2024’s $21.5 million.

The top golfers competed for $10.75 million in The 2019 Open Championship, while the same major in 2024 awarded $17 million to its competitors. The 2019 PGA Championship was a $11 million event while in 2024, the event purse value was $18.5 million. There’s definitely a major growth in the purse over the past five years. Other sponsored events have drastically increased purse values, putting a lot more financial load on the host sponsors.

What are your views regarding this subject? Do you think any other player would have such a huge impact on the event profits as Tiger Woods had during his prime years? Share your views in the comments section.