Players on the PGA TOUR will have the option of calling in an advance on their future earnings as the leading tour continues to sit in limbo due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With $75 million in prize money – and 11 or more events – wiped away due to the coronavirus, players have been offered the option of an advance based on their current FedEx Cup ranking. In terms of the scheme, they can receive up to $100,000 of bonus earnings that will be removed from their season-ending bonuses once play resumes.
Added to this, they will also be able to request advances on future earnings and up to $30,000 in advance earnings for future Monday pro-am spots.
‘Playing opportunities equate to financial opportunities, and we are concerned about the toll that cancelled tournaments are having on some of our members,’ wrote the tour’s chief of operations Tyler Dennis in a memo circulated to players.
This season, we have seen 22 completed events with 50 players taking their tally over the $1-million mark.
The average earnings of the top 100 is $1.29m while that number ‘drops’ to ‘just’ $780,000 for the top 200. As many as 210 players have earned more than the median household income in the US ($56,516) so far in the 2019-20 campaign.
Caddies are also able to request support, with the tour allowing for a partial distribution of an endorsement programme.
