TOUR players make their money the old-fashioned way

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Rich Beem is currently 137th on the PGA TOUR money list.

Is golf a real sport? Are golfers true professional athletes? These arguments can drag on longer than a World Series game.

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But an interesting thing happened in the NFL on Sunday that sheds a different light on this subject. New San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary was so upset with a boneheaded play by tight end Vernon Davis -- he drew a 15-yard penalty for slapping Seattle safety Brian Russell in the facemask after the play was over -- he not only benched Davis, he sent the non-apologetic tight end to the showers.

This sounds like capital punishment -- until one considers Davis still will receive his game check, about $200,000 a game.

Pro golfers only wish they had such luxuries as guaranteed salaries, incentive bonuses for, well, doing their jobs, and contracts that get extended just because they line up for a certain number of snaps.

The 132 players who show up this week for the PGA TOUR's Ginn sur Mer Classic in Palm Coast, Fla., are not assured anything other than a locker, a courtesy car, their equipment and some free food. If they slap somebody up aside the head during play, it's only because their aim was a little off, and they always apologize to the fan, inevitably giving them some golf goodies.

In a sense, golf is the truest of the major sports because, outside of the superstars and their guaranteed off-course endorsements, players have to perform to get paid. And this week, some marquee names need to perform quite well if they want to continue to get paid.

Look at some of the top names who will show up at the Ginn sur Mer Classic on the south side of the 125th spot on the TOUR's money list needing a strong performance the next two weeks to assure themselves of a full exemption in 2009.

We're talking about five former major champions: Mark Calcavecchia (No. 127), Bob Tway (No. 132), Rich Beem (No. 137), Tom Lehman (No. 138) and Lee Janzen (No. 152).

This "bubble" list also includes eight past TOUR winners: Vaughn Taylor (No. 129), Jason Gore (No. 135), Bob Estes (No. 139), Joe Durant (No. 141), Chris DiMarco (No. 142), Jesper Parnevik (No. 144), Frank Lickliter (No. 145) and Mark Hensby (No. 150) -- and it would have been 10 had former major champ Davis Love III and J.J. Henry not cracked the top 125 with strong showings at the Frys.com Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.

A player such as Calc will get a medical exemption (he recently had arthroscopic surgery) and he can also use one-time exemptions for ranking in the top 25 or top 50 in the TOUR's all-time earnings.

But, remember, these are benefits they "earned" from previous performances. San Francisco's Davis, by comparison, had his salary for this season determined when he was drafted sixth overall in 2006 and signed to a five-year, $23 million contract. How's that deal working out for a team that's since compiled a 14-26 record?

This type of reckless spending happens in other sports as well. Players in the NBA and Major League Baseball routinely have their contracts "bought" out, often for seven-figure amounts, instead of continuing with the teams for much higher salaries.

Not so on the PGA TOUR.

If a player doesn't play well enough on Thursday and Friday, he doesn't have the opportunity to stick around to get paid on Saturday and Sunday. He moves on to the next stop -- after paying for his hotel, caddy and travel expenses.

This professional athlete actually lost money while doing his job. Imagine that.

If the aforementioned golfers don't play well either this week, or at next week's Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart, they won't worry about just losing the game.

They could lose their jobs.

That's why Beem, DiMarco, Estes, Gore, Henry, Lickliter, Love, Parnevik, Taylor and Tway will be teeing it up this week at The Conservatory. Most of the sport's big names are taking a break, but they're still beating balls on the range, trying to find that magical swing thought.

It doesn't matter what they have accomplished in the sport; all that matters are the numbers they write on their scorecards.

That's the beauty of golf. Everyone starts at the first tee in the same position. Play well, and get paid well. Play poorly, and it may be time for a different tour or, worse, a different job.

Yes, professional golfers keep their jobs the old-fashioned way -- they earn them.

What a novel concept.

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His opinion does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the PGA TOUR.