Appearance Fees

[BASHERBAKER69]

On the most recent Sandtrap.com podcast it was rumoured that Tiger Woods commands $3mn appearance fees to play in certain tournaments, whether inside or outside of the PGA tour. It was questioned in the programme whether TW actually commands this fee or if that is the sum required to get him to play in tournaments.

Ok, he has played in New Zealand for a reported fee of $3mn, but im sure that he would never ask for such a sum- i feel that organisers decide what would be required to coax him away from his Tiger pad. What do you think?

I was suggested in the Podcast that certain playerrs in certain tourneys get underhand payments to get them to play in certain events- surely, this practice only applies to TW, Phil and possibly the likes of Greg Norman and possibly John Daly (although i would hazard a guess that he has to bribe organisers now to get in to tourneys- the days of him commanding appearance fees are long gone for him now surely!..lol). How would paymenst be made informally?- wire transactions?, stock?, share options?, free cars?, escort services?, free boats?, a property in a new holiday complex?

Also, we have to consider whether appearance fees are fair and what it does to the motivation and feelings of the rest of the field? Personally, if i knew that one of my playing partners was receiving a humungous payment just for turning up, that would irritate me..if they missed the cut and still got paid that would be even more irritating(!).

But that has to be balanced with the need to publicise events and put bums on seats- if the crowds turn up to watch the star player, then the appearance fee is justified. However, i do believe that these fees create a two tier golf tour which is not very fair. It is hoped that the fees Tiger or Phil is paid are donated to charity, not just stuffed in their already bloated coffers.

[BallStriker]

My understanding is that PGA Tour events cannot pay appearance fees, although they do circumvent the rule by providing a 'payment' for the pro-am (or something like that -- I can't recall the exact details).

There is no doubt that Tiger gets an appearance fee for non-PGA Tour tournaments -- also, I think John Daly is still in demand outside the US and will get paid to play (even now).

[BASHERBAKER69]

There are pros and cons of appearance fees, and on balance they are beneficial to the game, depending on the weight you give to viewing figures and the publicity the game receives.

[iacas]

On the most recent Sandtrap.com podcast it was rumoured that Tiger Woods commands $3mn appearance fees to play in certain tournaments, whether inside or outside of the PGA tour.

No, it was never "inside" the PGA Tour. Only "outside."

Ok, he has played in New Zealand for a reported fee of $3mn, but im sure that he would never ask for such a sum- i feel that organisers decide what would be required to coax him away from his Tiger pad. What do you think?

I also think that was in 2001 - so quite a long time ago, and really not terribly relevant. As I said in the podcast, he's played in Asia and Dubai recently, but his mother is Thai and he has business interests in Dubai. I'm not sure you could just get Tiger to show up for $10M if it would disrupt his schedule at all. He has the money - 5% of his yearly income isn't going to do much to pique his interest.

I was suggested in the Podcast that certain playerrs in certain tourneys get underhand payments to get them to play in certain events- surely, this practice only applies to TW, Phil and possibly the likes of Greg Norman and possibly John Daly (although i would hazard a guess that he has to bribe organisers now to get in to tourneys- the days of him commanding appearance fees are long gone for him now surely!..lol).

My comment there referred to the somewhat scandalous "outing" that happened before, IIRC, Doral a few years ago. I think a lot of players were paid to play in an event on Monday with the "understanding" that they would stick around and play in the tournament. It may have been a Ford outing, or something, and Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, and a few other guys showed up. Again, IIRC...

Tournament organizers (like the Wachovia - they're famous for this) for doing all they can to accommodate the players. The Wachovia sends them bottles of expensive wine, or promises some players certain kinds of lodging, etc. Those aren't strictly appearance fees at all, but they're some "extra service and stuff" that goes a bit above and beyond.

Also, we have to consider whether appearance fees are fair and what it does to the motivation and feelings of the rest of the field? Personally, if i knew that one of my playing partners was receiving a humungous payment just for turning up, that would irritate me..if they missed the cut and still got paid that would be even more irritating(!).

Frankly, I'm not sure you'd feel that way if the guy getting it was Tiger Woods. He rarely misses a cut. Same with Phil and even Vijay. The second tier is another story, but at the same time, I dunno - it's done on the European Tour and I'm not sure people care or whine much there about it. After all, the stars bring money to the game - money that you have a chance to earn by playing well. Tiger alone has raised purses substantially. How bitter could you really be about that?

That being said, it really doesn't happen on the PGA Tour, and as I said in the podcast, I don't think Tiger could be swayed (everyone has their price, but I don't see anyone donating $20M to the TWLC to get him to play) because his schedule is so set and geared around the majors.

[hawkeye]

John Daly is playing this week in Spain and next week in Italy on the European Tour. Everyone is delighted - more people will watch it on tv, way more people will go to the event and it's great for the European Tour. Daly comes over most years to play in events here. Heck - I even went to watch him in the Irish Open when Sergio won in 99!

I've no problem with appearance fees on the European Tour - how often do you get to see or meet your heros when you live here? Daly, Payne Stewart, Tom Lehman to name but a few that i've seen...

Golf is a business as much as a sport. It's a case of supply and demand. Tiger gets a massive paycheque to play in Dubai - but they keep paying him! Not only is he the world's best player, but he's in demand all over the world.

[tiger_who]

tiger wants 2million just to play here in australia, winner only gets 250k lol hes not cheep

[Ruari]

Apparently, Rory Sabbatini was paid $220,000 to play the Australian Open. Not sure about vfm there...
Mickelson's reported fee for the HSBC Masters in China was $600K and the reports are generally that it was money well spent. Not sure how much he gets for the Scottish Open, if anything, but again the reports are positive.
In general terms, I'd rather see bigger pots of prizemoney - they would tend to attract the top players anyway.
It was nice to see Daly at the Spanish Open but it doesn't look like he'll be playing the weekend. But he'll probably still be around, signing autographs, selling merchandise and maybe learning a bit of Flamenco guitar
It's been a bone of contention on the European Tour for decades. The first to get appearance fees was Jacklin - a category was created for 'Major winners'. He was the only one at the time but there were quite a few in the 1980s and 90s. I do believe the practice has spread to crowd-pullers and higher-ranked players, as well as Major winners.