How’d you like to play a little no-pressure golf for three days, doesn’t matter if you win, you can finish dead-last and still walk away with a quick $73,750 in your pocket.
Not bad for three days of relaxing recreational golf at a nice resort.
This past week saw some PGA Tour players and one LPGA player bank some easy money for the holidays.
First let’s look at the Franklin-Templeton Shootout at Tiburon in Naples. Used to be the “Shark Shootout” and Greg Norman still has a hand in it.
The format was scramble, modified alternate shot then best-ball for the 54-hole event.
Matt Kuchar and Harris English were easily the best team in the small, 12-team field, but it took an eagle by English at the par five 17th to him and his teammate to bank a whopping $385,000 each, beating old guys Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly by a shot.
How’s that for a cash-grab? There’s a lot of guys in the NFL getting concussions for the league’s $450,000 minimum salary yet there’s Kooch and Harris heading home with $385k each. Nice work it you can get it.
Even better, mad-scientist Bryson DeChambeau and his cutie partner Lexi Thompson finished tied for last with Mike Weir and Gary Woodland and they all left the property with a check for $73,750. Sweet!
Wait, there’s more. Upstate in Orlando, PNC Bank was nice enough to once again bankroll the Father-Son Challenge and some of those sons are getting downright elderly. David Duval and his stepson, Nick Karavites, shot 21-under in the two-day scramble and picked up $100,000 each. No sure if the kids get the money. In some cases they cannot, such as Taylor Funk, son of Fred and a college golfer of note at the University of Texas.
Taylor couldn’t take any of their winnings for finishing tied for second or else he’d no longer be a collegiate player (loss of eligibility) nor would he be an amateur.
Still, easy money for two days of scramble golf.
Merry Christmas from PNC.
