Reappropriating Some Greens

For the past five years, I have been hoping that someone from the PGA tour would refuse to play at the Masters golf tournament as a form of solidarity with Martha Burk and the National Council of Women’s Organizations. Particularly early on in that controversy, back in 2003 and 2004, I read and heard comments from the likes of Tiger Woods expressing agreement that Augusta National Golf Club should admit women as members; however, I have yet to see a PGA member who was invited refuse to play.

This year, though, while biding my time not watching the tournament, I wondered if there might be a better action to wish for. When I think about it, of those who still play the tournament (i.e. not Jack Nicklaus, for instance), outside of Tiger Woods and maybe Phil Mickelson, I don’t think that the refusal of any PGA tour member to play the tournament would have any kind of significant persuasive impact. And even if Tiger or Phil refused to play, I wonder about the way that the PGA, Augusta National, and the press would handle it. However, this year, a new and I think even more delightful tactic occurred to me. What if the winner (or even any high-placing competitor) gave the money that he made at the tournament (after dutifully paying his caddie) as a donation to the National Council of Women’s Organizations? For Trevor Immelman—this year’s winner—that prize was $1,350,000. I believe a caddie’s cut is usually 10 percent, so that makes $1,215,000 as a donation.

Now, one might say that to Immelman that’s a lot of money (though he did earn over $1.8 million on the PGA tour last year and over $3.8 million in 2006, which doesn’t even account for non-PGA tournaments played, any endorsements he might have, etc.). Fine. Tiger Woods has tons of money. Let’s say he donated all of the money he made at the Masters since the first protested tournament in 2003. The figures are:

$93,000 for 15th place in 2003
$70,200 for 22nd place in 2004
$1,260,000 for 1st place in 2005
$315,700 for 3rd place in 2006
$541,333 for 2nd place in 2007
$810,000 for 2nd place in 2008
(All of these monetary figures were found on espn.com.)

That’s a total of $3,090,233. Again, if we take out a ten percent caddie cut, the total comes to $2,781,209.70. This certainly seems like a donation that Tiger could afford and imagine how over $2.7 million dollars would help out the National Council of Women’s Organizations in its many projects and efforts. And what could the PGA, Augusta National, etc. do? They couldn’t complain that this was a public affront to them, the way they might if someone refused to play. Additionally, it would now be the player’s money and he would have the right to do what he wished with it. So, I’d tend to think that anyone who complained would look like a total jackass to a lot of people.

I'm really liking this idea better. So, come on, PGAers, step up to the teebox on this one.