Tour Pension Numbers

Andrew Both writes:

At a meeting hosted by commissioner Tim Finchem last week, players were given some examples of their projected retirement payouts.

For example, a 2006 rookie who has a Fred Couples-type career - more than 20 very successful years on tour - can expect to receive a pension of about $247 million, according to the tour's figures.

OK, you say, but not many players have as good a career as Couples. True, but consider the case of a player who has a Don Pooley-like career, 20 years on tour averaging about 75th on the money list. He can expect a payout of about $142 million, not bad for a so-called journeyman.

Of course, these figures, provided to SportsTicker by a player at the meeting, are only projections, educated guesses at best, but even if they are grossly overstated, the tour's bottom feeders will still be very well taken care of barring a major long-term economic catastrophe.

Some of the newer tour members were flabbergasted to learn these figures, and there are skeptics who doubt their accuracy.

"Where is this money coming from?" asked one insider. "You're talking billions of dollars. Are these guys smarter than every other investor in the world? If a journeyman stands to get that sort of money, how much can Tiger expect?"

It seems the key to receiving a massive pension is longevity, keeping your job for a decade or more, even if you never win. And you thought it was all about the trophies.

Sean, try to keep the posts to 500 words or less!  And thanks to reader Noonan for this story.