Most lucrative Players Championship yet highlights growth of golf’s riches

This has been quite the spell for those who like to number crunch around the world of professional golf. The Players Championship, taking place this weekend, carries a prize purse of $20m with $3.6m to be bestowed on the winner. By Sunday evening, three tournaments in a row played in Florida will have seen $40m handed out on the basis of leaderboard placings. Arnold Palmer’s PGA Tour winnings totalled $1.9m.

Those at the summit of this sport have never had it so good. Still, many believe the largesse associated with the PGA Tour in particular has become obscene, to the point where golfers will naturally lose all grip on reality. The theory was only endorsed as umpteen players at least flirted with Saudi Arabia and its bid for a breakaway tour. Phil Mickelson, without any apparent irony, blasted the PGA Tour for “obnoxious greed” before admitting his Saudi dealings were all about “leverage”.

The Saudi scheme actually made little commercial sense – which perhaps doesn’t matter when you are seeking to rebrand a kingdom – but the willingness of sportsmen to indulge it on the basis of guaranteed tens of millions has been an inauspicious sight. The PGA and DP World Tours viewed the disruption plan as serious enough to not only close ranks but to beef up their financial offering. Yet again, the players win.

But are golfers now paid too much? “We are paid as much as people are willing to pay us, I guess,” says Rory McIlroy. “You can say the same thing about footballers or any other athletes. You could argue that they’re paid too little or too much, but you’re only worth what people are willing to pay you.

“I’d say at this point we’re fairly paid. The top guys earn a lot of money, and I think that’s right. Even the guys that are