Every time a PGA Tour Signature Event comes into focus, so does the M-word: Money.
Naturally, that’s because these events come with elevated $20 million purses. And outside of a few exceptions, these tournaments, such as this week's RBC Heritage, also don't have a cut, which means everyone in the field gets paid.
Surprisingly, though, some don’t think about money at all. Or at least that's what a pair of players said ahead of this week's event in Hilton Head.
The first was Canadian Corey Conners, who made his professional debut at Harbour Town a decade ago and is "thrilled to be back" in a little lighter atmosphere after a stressful but successful week at Augusta National, where he tied for eighth at The Masters.
While he hasn’t yet won this season, he is currently leading the PGA Tour in top-10 finishes with five and says that at this point in his career, he doesn't care about money.
“I would say my first year, I was always curious about the check I was going to make. But the last few years, not really,” Conners insisted. "Regardless of the purse, I'm going to be here. I love this golf course, love this event.”
He takes that attitude into every event he plays and views the monetary side of things as a nice bonus.
“The amount that I make doesn't change who I am or really my day-to-day life much,” he said.
If Conners were paid less, it would not change his enthusiasm.
“If the purse here was half of what it is, I would still be just as amped up and just as excited to be here and play,” he added. “If they started shrinking a lot of the purses, I think my mind would be concerned with the finances of the tour as a whole.”
But he knows the PGA Tour is on good financial footing, despite the recent battles in the ongoing saga with LIV Golf.
The Saudi-backed series, of course, has spent hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars to lure away some of the PGA Tour's top players over the last few years. And while plans for a merger between the two circuits were announced in June 2023, no agreement has yet been reached.
These Signature Events were essentially the PGA Tour's answer to the large purses at LIV events, but, like Conners, Brian Harman doesn't seem to care about purse sizes in the slightest.
“It gets talked about way too much,” Harman said. “I feel that the vast majority of guys that are doing really well on tour and are winning and are—they don't do it for the money.”
The 2023 Open Championship includes himself in that camp, saying, "I don't play for the money, but I still consider it. It's a nice thing, right?"
Everyone would agree to that.
Harman recalled once being asked about money when he had a chance to win The Players Championship and insisted that the adrenaline he felt was for hoisting a trophy, not cashing the check that comes along with it.
“I'm loosely in contention. I'm in one of the last few groups, probably three or four shots back, and the pin is back right on 17, and I aimed right at it, hit it in there eight feet, made the putt,” he recalled. “I didn't consider what I would have gotten paid for third place or eighth place or 12th place. I was trying to win. For me, the rush is not the check at the end. It is, 'Can I execute this shot and try and win this golf tournament?'”
The Signature Events, in his opinion, are getting good fields for another reason, not because of the money.
“They've gotten the fields more so because of the FedExCup points being elevated, more so than the money being elevated,” Harman explained. “You can't afford to miss one of these because of the point opportunities and how that translates into your chances into the end-of-the-year tournaments and ultimately trying to win the FedExCup at the end of the year. Guys won't skip this because the money was lower.”
It's tough to argue with his logic. Only the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings get into the opening event of the playoffs. And from there, the list dwindles to 50 for the second and then down to 30 for the Tour Championship.
So, while the money is stupendous in many cases, it is really about getting an opportunity to play in the last three events of the season. And to do that, it’s important to do well in the Signature Events.