The First Look: Open Championship

ATLANTA – Money, in certain situations, does matter to the world’s top golfers. When Justin Thomas is at home, playing a game with one of his friends, and $200 is riding on the final putt, well … “That makes me nervous,â€� JT said, “when you have to physically give the money over and you lose to somebody.â€� Or when your mother points out how much money you lost with a double bogey. In 2014, Thomas – then a member on the Korn Ferry Tour — played the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on a sponsor’s exemption. He doubled the 72nd hole, going from a top-20 finish to T-37. “That cost me,â€� JT told himself at the time. Related: How it works: TOUR Championship | Expert Picks | Tiger: ‘All hell broke loose’ last year The next day, his mother sent him a text, telling him exactly how much it cost him: $42,000. JT’s response? Mom, if you ever send me a text like that again, I will delete your number. Don’t ever text me something like this. JT laughed as he told the story Wednesday while answering questions about the amount of money he and his 29 peers will be playing for this week at the TOUR Championship. It’s slightly more than $200, slightly more than $42,000. To be exact, Sunday’s winner gets the $15 million bonus that goes with the FedExCup trophy. It’s a 50% bump over the previous FedExCup winner’s bonus, and it’s the biggest prize on the PGA TOUR. It’s also among the biggest single-week prizes in sports. Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest-paid athletes is usually populated by those playing team sports, so their money is spread out over the course of a season. Boxers generally receive the highest single-day paydays; Floyd Mayweather made $275 million for his fight against Conor McGregor, albeit with a guaranteed $100 million before throwing a single punch. This week’s total purse at East Lake is $60 million, so even last place in the 30-man field this week will get $395,000. “Being a player from yesteryear, this is an ungodly amount of money,â€� noted NBC golf analyst Roger Maltbie, who made $2.2 million during his five-win PGA TOUR career. But that’s the way all sports have evolved, and golf – to some degree – still is playing catch-up. Even with the increase in money, the top golfers aren’t yet at the annual levels stars in other sports are making. “If you turn on SportsCenter, you turn on any other shows, you’re looking at football players and baseball players, basketball getting $150 million over four years. So it’s front and center over there, and it’s guaranteed,â€� said Rory McIlroy, the 2016 FedExCup champ. “This isn’t guaranteed for us. You’ve got to play to earn it, so this is a little different. But at the same time, I think it does bring us in line with the other sports.â€� But McIlroy would rather talk legacy, not dollars and cents, when it comes to the FedExCup, now in its 13th year. The FedExCup is a unique honor in that it rewards a combination of regular-season wins and consistency, followed by the three-tournament Playoffs sprint to the title. Money can be spent, but his name on the silver trophy will never disappear. “If the FedExCup wants to create a legacy that lasts longer, it doesn’t need to be about the money,â€� McIlroy said. “It should be about the prestige of winning an event that you’ll be remembered for. … “For me and my competitive spirit, I want to win the FedExCup for a lot of different reasons. Is money one of them? Yeah, look, it would be nice to win on Sunday and be, oh, I’m $15 million richer, whatever it is. But at the same time, I’ll get more satisfaction from winning the golf tournament and playing well. One of the things that I’ve talked about over the past couple of years is I don’t think the money needs to be front and center because I don’t think that’s what the fans care about.â€� Nor is it what the players care about, at least not in the heat of competition. Asked if he would let his mind drift to the $15 million payoff if he was walking toward the 72nd green Sunday with a guaranteed win, Patrick Cantlay still said no. He wants to remain immersed in his shot-by-shot process. “I think you could get caught up in something like that and lose your attention or lose your focus and your intensity, and I don’t think that helps you,â€� said Cantlay, who starts on Thursday in the second-most advantageous position at 8 under, just two strokes behind Thomas, the FedExCup points leader who starts at 10 under in this year’s new format. Defending FedExCup champ Justin Rose acknowledged that playing for last year’s $10 million bonus can “get in your head a little bit. It’s a huge reward, huge pot of gold at the end.” But, said Rose, “I’ve always played to win and also for pride.” Patrick Reed won $1.98 million for winning the Masters in 2018, but the money is secondary compared to simply slipping on the green jacket. He feels the same way toward the FedExCup, even with its much bigger payoff. “We all know, it’s a big number,â€� said Reed, starting the week at 6 under. “But as the end of the day, as competitors, we’re out there trying to get hardware. We’re going out there to try to win a golf tournament. Whatever comes with it is great, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to go win a golf tournament and hold up a trophy because that’s what we’ve always played for. We’ve always played for trophies growing up.â€� Thomas already has won FedExCup trophy. On Sunday, he hopes to join Tiger Woods as the only two-time winners. Like Mclroy, he’s playing for his legacy, not his pocketbook. “If I win the FedExCup this week, it’s not going to change my life,â€� Thomas said. “It’s unbelievable and it’s an extremely substantial amount of money, and how FedEx has stepped up to take care of us players is crazy. It’s unbelievable. I’m sure 10 years ago I never would have thought that was possible, but I’m not going to change the way I live my life if I win. “Money has never driven me. I hope it never will. I play to win trophies and win championships and be the best player to ever the walk the planet – and that’s all I play for.â€�

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