The sums paid out this week to the select Tour Championship field are relative, one supposes, depending upon who’s cashing the check.
For a Rory McIlroy, who has won more than $50 million already on the PGA and European Tours, the potential $10 million bonus is not a life-changer.
It’s always entertaining to hear really rich athletes stammer when they try to put lottery-winning-sized winnings into perspective.
“I don’t think (the money) will make me any more nervous on the golf course on Sunday,” McIlroy said Wednesday.
“Ten million dollars is a lot of money to anyone. And if I’m thinking of getting myself something — I don’t know, whatever it is — it’s a nice bit of extra money to have for whatever.”
Now, for a Chris Kirk, the FedEx Cup points leader entering Thursday’s first round, $10 million is much weightier. That would surpass his career earnings on the PGA Tour.
“It would be a pretty incredible nest egg to have to fall back on for the rest of my life,” he said.
Kirk maintains that when and if he is in contention Sunday for the Tour Championship title, and the big bonus, he is not one to be blinded by dollar signs.
“The competitive nature of all of us out here sort of takes over and it becomes about way more than the money,” Kirk said. “It becomes about proving to yourself that you can do it, gaining the respect of your peers, showing the tens of thousands there watching you and the hundreds of thousands watching you on TV that you can play.”
Insert a pause here, for the sake of comedic timing. “Although, I’m not going to send the check back,” he added.
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