Life and Money on the DP World Tour
I chatted with DP World Tour member Richie Ramsay about his experiences as a professional golfer.
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Hey Golfers —
I spoke with DP World Tour member Richie Ramsay last week to better understand the life and money on the DP World Tour and how it compares to the PGA Tour.
Before we get into the newsletter — here is a quick summary of Richie.
Richie won the U.S. Amateur in 2006 — he was the first British-born winner in more than 100 years. He has won four times on the DP World Tour — his most recent win was the Cazoo Classic in July of 2022.
Richie has played a full schedule on the DP World Tour since 2009 — averaging 25 events per year.
Now let’s get to it.
Richie finished 19th in the 2022 DP World Tour order of merit — winning over $1.2 million. It was one of his best years on the DP World Tour.
To put that in perspective, Viktor Hovland finished 19th on the 2022 PGA Tour money list. He won $4.8 million, excluding bonuses — Viktor made four times the amount of Richie.
Rory McIlroy won the 2022 DP World Tour order of merit with $6 million in earnings — although $3.75 million of that $6 million was won in co-sanctioned events with the PGA Tour. Scottie Scheffler won the PGA Tour money list with $14 million, excluding bonuses.
In the 2022 season — 33 golfers made over $1 million on the DP World Tour, while the PGA Tour had 126 golfers make over $1 million.
About 10% of DP World Tour golfers made over $1 million in 2022. Compare this to the PGA Tour in 2022, where 51% of golfers made over $1 million. To come up with each percentage, I divided the number of golfers making over $1 million and how many golfers cashed checks on each Tour.
Several golfers play the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. In an effort to better understand the 2022 money rankings — I took out duplicate events that were majors or co-sanctioned.
Jon Rahm won the most money in 2022 on the DP World Tour, coming in at $4.2 million. Jon played in three events to achieve that $4.2 million mark. This does not include majors and co-sanctioned events with the PGA Tour.
Ryan Fox played in 24 events in 2022 on the DP World Tour. Included in the 24 events were three majors and one co-sanctioned event. He won $3.6 million in 2022.
I looked at the top 20 money earners on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour in 2022. Here is a look at how they stack up against each other.
Regarding travel — DP World Tour and PGA Tour players generally play in about the same amount of events.
Thriston Lawrence finished 14th on the DP World Tour in 2022 and played the most events at 30 of the top 20 golfers. Sungjae Im finished 13th on the PGA Tour in 2022 and played the most events at 26 of the top 20 golfers. Most golfers play more than 20 events per season on each Tour.
But travel on the DP World Tour is much different than the PGA Tour.
The DP World Tour will play 39 tournaments in 2023. Tournaments will be played in 26 countries and on five continents.
Richie Ramsay played in 26 tournaments in 2022. He played in 13 countries and on three continents.
Traveling from country to country is challenging. For some players, it can require visas and certain documentation to enter the country. Add on currency exchange rates and experiencing different cultures. A quick side note on currency exchange rates — a player is allowed to select a currency to be paid in on the DP World Tour. The Tour will typically lock in exchange rates a few times per year.
Richie flies commercial to tournaments and budgets around $1,500 per week for flight and hotel. At 25 tournaments per year — he’s looking at $37,500 in those two expenses. He told me he is an avid deal watcher and hunts the best hotel prices on aggregator websites.
He will average about $3,000 per week on his caddie throughout the season.
He’s quickly north of $100,000 in expenses, which doesn’t include his coach, accountant, or gym.
Sorting out earnings in different countries is an accounting challenge. A player must pay tax in that country and then pay tax in their home country. Depending on each country's tax laws, the player will likely be able to deduct the tax they have already paid in another country.
This is partly why some players have moved to Dubai. There is a 0% tax rate and five tournaments per season. Allowing golfers to take home more cash.
Richie says his rule of thumb is to budget 50% for taxes. Although he says it doesn’t get that high, he prefers a conservative approach.
And player sponsorships on the DP World Tour are lower than the PGA Tour. Richie told me the money spent on one PGA Tour player could sponsor two - three DP World Tour guys.
One of the most significant financial differences between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour?
The retirement plan — or lack thereof.
The DP World Tour does not have a retirement plan for its players. The PGA Tour has an excellent retirement for its members.
The PGA Tour has approximately 900 members with balances in the retirement plan. Including over 100 that have balances greater than $5 million.
Because of the lack of a retirement plan on the DP World Tour — players need to invest on their own.
I asked Richie what he would do if he were to finish inside the top 10 on the DP World Tour this year. Would he accept a PGA Tour membership?
He said it would be a huge opportunity — but not an easy decision. Richie is very involved with his family; he enjoys walking his six-year-old daughter to school when he’s home. He said to play on the PGA Tour properly — he would need to move to the United States. He would likely leave his family behind in Edinburgh.
Richie mentioned in our conversation one of his primary goals is to provide for his family and give better opportunities to his kids than he had — he is doing exactly that. And he is very grateful to play on the DP World Tour.
I suspect Richie isn’t the only DP World Tour player that feels this way. I would also expect other golfers to have a different answer. It really depends on priorities.
The DP World Tour is a top professional golf tour that is creating wealth for its members — maybe not at the same rate as the PGA Tour, and that is perfectly okay. Golfers have to navigate different countries, cultures, currencies, tax laws, etc. But they also get to experience professional golf in some of the most interesting places in the world.
A big thanks to Richie for his time and for teaching me more about the DP World Tour.
Have yourself a great Monday. Talk to you next week!
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Thanks, Jared. Very interesting, I really enjoyed it.