Bubba Watson: I was paid to play in PGA Tour events

Two-time Masters champion turned LIV Golf Series pro Bubba Watson said on Wednesday he got “paid behind closed doors” while on the PGA Tour to show up to “many tournaments”, a violation of Tour rules.

Watson made the comments to ESPN about the hullabaloo made by the PGA Tour and LIV critics about the hundreds of millions of dollars being thrown about by the Saudi-backed circuit to lure players away from the Tour.

“It makes me laugh because on the PGA Tour I got paid behind closed doors to show up at tournaments, many tournaments,” Watson told ESPN.

“And if Bubba Watson’s not the best, that means the best were getting paid better than me and more than me. And so it’s guaranteed money.

“I miss the cut, I still make money. I make the cut, I make extra money.”

Watson said he was paid by sponsors and tournament organisers.

The PGA Tour reiterated to ESPN that it “prohibits the payment of appearance money to players as an inducement to play in a particular tournament”.

Watson, who won 12 times on the PGA Tour, would not divulge how much he received to play in events on the PGA Tour.

“I’d laugh at it because we all had some guaranteed money to show up at places,” Watson told ESPN.

“Win, lose, quit, whatever it is, you still got the money. We’ve all been doing that. We’ve all been playing for guaranteed money. The critics, it just makes me laugh because that’s what we’re doing. We don’t want to talk about it on tour, but we are getting it.”

PGA Tour player advisory council member Kevin Kisner rejected the notion, saying Watson is talking about contractual sponsor-related activities, a far cry from pay-for-play.

“If Travelers wants to pay Bubba Watson to go do a tent visit, that has nothing to do with the PGA Tour,” Kisner told ESPN.

“You don't think Zurich in New Orleans is pressuring guys to play because they’re sponsoring them on their sleeves? That’s not an appearance fee. That's an off-course endorsement that’s under contract.”

• The PGA Tour made headlines when it announced that players would need to participate in all “elevated” events to earn Player affect Program (PIP) bonuses, but the Tour shifted gears this week, giving all players one exemption apiece for those events.

Jon Rahm was a notable dissenter when the requirements were made public, predicting, “I wouldn't be surprised if that changes.”

Rahm, as it turns out, was prophetic. The PGA’s latest guidance allows players to miss an event for “personal or professional reasons” and still be eligible to collect PIP bonuses, which are rising from $50m to $100m next year.

In total, 13 events will be designated as “elevated” in 2023.

In order, those events are the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the Phoenix Open, the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players, the World Golf Championships, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship, the Memorial Tournament, Travelers Championship, St Jude, BMW Championship and the Tour Championship.

Those 13 events have helped raise the estimated total purse for next season, from $428.6m to $528.9m. 

Field Level Media