Multiple PGA Tour winner slams 'criminal' decision

Multiple PGA Tour winner Billy Andrade has slammed the decision to eliminate the pension pot for senior players.

PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady confirmed the move at the final players' meeting of the season.

According to Golfweek, the decision is part of a long-term plan to make the over-50s circuit financially self-sufficient and less reliant on funding from the PGA Tour.

But Andrade told the publication that the decision is "actually criminal" and believes his generation helped build the PGA Tour.

"It went from $10m to $8m and now it's zero," Andrade said. 

The 62-year-old added: "You've got all these millions flowing everywhere for Championship Series, this series, that series, for all these leagues this guy [Tour CEO Brian Rolapp] is creating, and then they're taking this money that has been designated to these Champions players. 

"These are the players who helped make the Tour what it is today and helped create the jobs that executives and current players enjoy ... It's actually criminal."

Fellow veteran David Toms also criticised the decision, arguing that the PGA Tour's prize money made the pension cut difficult to understand.

The 2001 PGA Championship winner said players are competing for almost $20m at regular Tour events and couldn't understand $10m could not be maintained for the retirement programme.

The pension programme dates back to 1985, when it began with an allocation of $250,000. 

Players could earn retirement credits by finishing inside the top 48 at tournaments, provided they competed in at least 12 events during the season.

The scheme was suspended in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, although some funding was redirected to two Charles Schwab Series tournaments at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri.

Brady said the Champions Tour had reached a point where it was generating money for the organisation and needed to become more financially independent.

He also highlighted efforts to increase sponsorship income and prize funds, pointing to the Portugal Invitational and the upcoming Sony Championship Open in Hawaii as examples of tournaments offering $3m purses.

"We've gotten to the point where we are making money for the organization, and if we can do better, we can reinvest in ourselves," Brady said. 

"It may take a while, but the financial performance of this tour is as good as it has ever been."