Pro golfer posts Twitter rant and quits PGA after receiving hefty fines
Professional golfer Jamie Dick has decided to quit the PGA after accusing the association of "lining their pockets with nonsensical fines."
English professional golfer Jamie Dick went on a Twitter rant on Saturday evening about the fines he has received from the PGA and it gained quite a lot of attention.
According to Dick, he chose to play in Clutch Pro Tour events because they offer significantly higher payouts than the PGA Assistant's events which offer first prizes of £270.
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The Clutch Pro Tour offers fantastic opportunities to professional golfers with 21 exclusive UK events and eight international events, including 18, 36 and 54-hole tournaments.
The tour offers up to 40 invitations for players to play on the Challenge Tour and five invitations on the DP World Tour and the Ladies European Tour, with a total purse of £630,000 over the season.
The prize money at these events can prove extremely beneficial to players such as Dick who dream of playing in events such as the ISPA Handa World Invitational this week on the DP World Tour.
Its a shame it has come to this but I just wanted people to be aware of my reasons for leaving @ThePGA and let anyone know who is thinking of Joining what you are actually allowed to do. pic.twitter.com/P8yhW0mlfv
— Jamie Dick (@jamiedick111) August 13, 2022
This is why Dick chose to play in Clutch Pro Tour events, but he reports that the PGA has fined him £1500, halved to £750 as he is an assistant, because the association classes these events as "non-higher ranking," despite the larger sums of prize money on offer.
Dick described his own financial situation in his tweet. He has £15,000 of student debt to pay and he can't afford to pay the fines given to him by the PGA.
He managed to play in two PGA EuroPro events in 2022. He made one top-10 and finished 63rd in the order of merit with £2,150 in total prize money.
"I can't believe that the PGA are there to help anybody but themselves and line their pockets by issuing nonsensical fines that equate to nearly as much as I was playing for," Dick wrote on social media after quitting the PGA.
"These rules almost feel put in place to stop players trying to progress their golfing career and stay on the PGA ferris wheel.
"I would urge all players who are thinking about doing their PGA and still trying to play at a competitive level to think long and hard about it as you will not have your own freedom to decide what you play in."
