Huge disparity on fairways
Golf’s pay disparity is so vast that some male caddies earn as much as the world’s best women golfers.
A recent study reveals top male players earn four times the amount of their female counterparts, with some male caddies earning more than most female golfers.
The United Kingdom study, published on the Noob Norm website, found that on average male golfers in the PGA earn US$1121 (NZ$1600) per shot, while females on the LPGA Tour earn US$274 (NZ$391).
However, the difference between the average pay levels was not the most startling figure.
Top PGA earner Justin Thomas, of the United States, raked in US$9.9 million in 2017 while the LPGA’s Sung Hyun Park reeled in US$2.3 million.
The study found that top male caddies were also above many of the LPGA players with Rory McIlroy’s caddie, JP Fitzgerald, and Dustin Johnson’s brother, Austin Johnson, earning more on tour in 2017 than all but the top four LPGA players.
Kiwi caddie Steve Williams reportedly earned just over US$8m on the bag of Tiger Woods between 1999 and 2011, according to Business Insider Australia in 2011.
According to Golf Digest, a cad- die can earn US$1300 to US$1800 per week as a base salary on the PGA Tour and then a minimum 5 per cent pay cheque if the PGA player makes the cut, 7 per cent for a top 10 finish and 10 per cent for the win.
So if a top-five finish pays US$377,000, the caddie’s take for the week, including base and an 8 percent bonus, is approaching US$32,000.
Ranked 56th on the PGA list top Kiwi male golfer Danny Lee earned US$1.6m in 2017 on the PGA tour, while New Zealand’s leading female golfer Lydia Ko, ranked 13 on the LPGA list, earned US$1.1.
Jane Park, Lee’s female equivalent, at 56 on the LPGA list, earned US$341,793.
The UK study also found that male golfers rated 41 and above on the PGA rankings are paid more than any female golfer on the LPGA Tour.
The most obvious reason for the pay gap was the revenue driven by sponsorship and broadcast deals in the men’s game versus womens.
The study showed statistics around the capabilities of men versus women on the fairways did not equal the enormous pay gap off it.
In fact, statistics show top female golfers often beat men for fairways hit and greens in regulation - two of the games most important statistics.
The men do take less putts than women and the male/female scorecards are often not that much different, according to the study.