Fellow golfers,

Question I was asked today - "why would a player stay amateur rather than turn pro ?"

Clearly prompted by the fine display by Chris Wood in The (British, ahem) Open......

So, what are the pro's & con's ?   

Big fish small pool?

As a pro you have to earn your way on to the tour, very difficult to make it to European tour. Justin Jose missed how many cutts after turning pro ?20ish

Whats happened to Richie Ramsey, John Parry? etc.

If you build a good am record, more likely to get picked up by a management team, plus sponsor invites.

Might not like travelling?

Not enough Backing?

Might not be Abel to cope with the change to tour life style?

Might want Walker cup selection?

just a few i could think of.

First thing would be getting through Q-school if you wanted to play with the big boys. If you get your card, that then means making something like £1500 - £2000 per week to cover expenses, travel, subsistence, caddy. That means making cuts.

I'm not sure about playing on the satellite tours but I would think some sort of sponsorship would be needed at first to get through the first year.

Edit :- Here's a wee piece on the latest tribulations of Michelle Wie. Not quite comparable to the OP's question but shows how "dog-eat-dog" it can be on Tour, especially if you've got parents / management who are clearly deluded. http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/news?slug=ap-timdahlberg-072208&prov=ap&type=lgns