golfrewind.com

off topic a bit, but many of the guys on the tour do respect the fortunate situation they are in....I was able to go to The Memorial Tournament last summer for a practice round, and was able to obtain about 40 of the guys signatures, most notable David Toms, Adam Scott, Charles Howell 3, unfortunately i didnt go to the 18th to get Tigers (he waits till he is done with his round to sign autos for the kids) but i did hear he spent a good 20 minutes signing autos....and all three took as much time as possible between each hole to sign as many autographs as possible, but the likes of Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Paul Azinger, and others would sign maybe 3 or 4 between holes....

the manner in which Toms, Scott, Howell, and Tiger go about interacting with the fans is what allows me to cheer for them more than the others, because they seem personable and act as if they are a normal human being who respects their position in society, unlike Vijay and Ernie who seem to think they are too good to spend time for those who root for them every week and idolize them....

I don't doubt there are country club players out there that can occasionally shoot lower scores than PGA Tour members, but that's a far cry from competing at the highest level. There's a huge difference between taking a few bucks off your buddies by shooting a 68 and posting that 68 in the first round of a PGA Tournament where everyone in the field can post that score, or better.

I also don't doubt there are a few hard luck stories out there about guys with talent that never made it, but I've always found that if you're good enough at something, you'll usually find a way.

As far as the bank account thing.......I'd like to see a list of any Q-School qualifiers that had anywhere near that amount of cash coming out of Q-School. The top guys on tour earn millions for a reason. They're good. No one ever said earning a tour card was easy, or cheap, but there's lots of players of modest means that have earned a tour card. Keeping it is the secret!

Ok now. this debate can go on and on. the bottom line is the sponsor can invite whomever it wants and if that person can draw dollars - that person will be there. also- there is no such requirement as $300,000 to start out on tour. there are plenty of guys on tour who have no money, sleep in their cars and eat fast food. your friends at +2 don't know what PGA pressure is. it takes a special person ot make it on tour. playing week in and week out with 170 +2 or better golfers on level 5 courses ain't exactly like hustling some low handicappers on your average suburban course. the PGA players are the best players out there.

The answer is: just look at the ink this column received. This is why she got the "do re mi".

OR just be actually good enough to belong (I mean win) .. <grin>

Question: How many sponsor's does it take to get 300 grand? I know it depends on who they are, etc. But for average Joe who just made it through Q school, any one know about this?

there is no minimun bank balance to be on tour. you have to be able to afford to pay the entrance fees - that's it.

Does the PGA Tour still require entry fees to play in a PGA event?

Actually, yes, but extremely modest considering the reward for a good week, my understanding is few hundred dollars. You might call the fees - "token". This is a worthy discussion and there a lot of valuable points, here, but I honestly think Sony would be insane to not invite their biggest investment in golf to a GOLF TOURNAMENT.

Ultimately, you have to catch some breaks to make the journey to the PGA Tour, but as much as it costs week-in and week-out, there is a lot of reward outside of the weekly paycheck. I will never feel sorry for those men or women that make even a modest living playing golf.

Hey just realized what we're talking about! You're right! Sony Open!! Duhhhh.
Sony sponsors Michelle. Uh hello...you're lucky they don't have a Halo character out there playing.

Wow

There is noone around who plays to a +2 that's better than the guys on tour. Those guys are unbelievably good. Noone owes anything to the guys trying to make it. The world is littered with people who tried and failed. Why did they fail? Because they weren't good enough. Nothing to do with not being given their chance. Everyone who plays golf has the means to make it as a pro golfer. Only a VERY small proportion have the ability to back that up. If you're good enough to compete on tour, then the money would cover itself. The guy who finished 125th on the money list in 2005 made $626,000. That's a pretty impressive paycheck against the $300,000 that you reckon it costs to play. I'm presuming that includes flights and accommodation and caddies' fees etc, which is a stretch. If you had to you could do it for way less.

It is true that it is easier for some people to test themselves against it because of the backing that they have and there are people around who may have made it if they'd had a go, but that was their choice. Noone forced them into it and noone need feel sorry for them.

If you want to go down that road, then I wish you the very best of luck. Don't think however that the only thing you need is the money behind you. If you're good enough, that'll be there anyway and if you're not, it won't make the blindest bit of difference.

Sorry if that's a little blunt, but your suggestion that the tour players aren't that good and just have the backing is way off target. They are the best in the world. No arguments. If you know guys off +6, +7 that play at country clubs for cash then you might have a point, but +2, +3 merely indicates potential. Nothing more. Consider how the amateurs do in the majors when they play. That should give you a reasonable idea of how good the best amateurs in the world are against the guys on tour. Not very.

nice post

RE: $300,000 to get into Q-School... I thought it was more like $3,000.

And you won't get on the Tour with a +2 handicap. As Ty_Webb said, and several other posts I've read on this board (mostly by our local pro jcgolfpro... where is he lately anyway?) you've got to be able to shoot 6, 7 or 8 under par consistently at your home course to have a chance at some money and keep your Tour Card (or even get ON the Tour).

In fairness, I think the 300k figure was the cost of spending a year playing on tour rather than the entry fee. It'll be including hotels, flights, caddy fees, everything.

As someone else pointed out Hawaii is in the States. Next if you are referring to the mainland USA, then she did quite well at the John Deere, missing the cut by 2, but playing some good stuff, and finishing under par.

Obviously you posted your comments after the first round, which proved to be a bit hasty, since only 11 guys beat her 2nd round score.
As regards just playing lpga, as I explained in another topic, if she wants to play on the pga she needs to concentrate on it, just like she is. If she settled in to lpga courses, she would not need half the shots that she needs when she plays on the pga courses. This would probably result in her not bothering to practice these shots as much and thus she would fall further behind the top men. She is going about it the right way.

Regarding Annika, you said she is way better than Michelle. Your comment is correct if you are referring to play on lpga courses which are shorter and easier. However on pga courses, even at this stage, I think Michelle is ahead of Annika.

As leaguegolf and others stated, sponsors pay big bucks to sponsor events. As a result of this they get to give exemptions to whatever golfer they so choose. Sponsors exemptions are usually given to local or high profile people.
In any case, it is the sponsors decision to make who get it.