Among the many many international locations Michael Kim flew to within the 2024 PGA Tour season was Mexico for the World Vast Expertise Championship.
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The lifetime of a PGA Tour professional can appear glamorous, darting throughout the globe and again all 12 months lengthy chasing large purses. However to perform all that jetting round, professional golfers depend on, nicely, jets. And all that airline journey, plus the lodge stays as soon as they arrive, comes at a surprising price.
We all know that due to Tour professional Michael Kim. Kim has grow to be one of many greatest follows on social media for golfers. He repeatedly dispenses beneficial and fascinating perception into the behind-the-scenes lifetime of a PGA Tour professional, each the nice and the dangerous.
It’s the form of transparency trendy sports activities followers like to see, and Kim supplied his newest dose this week to his followers on X.
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In a submit on Friday morning, Kim shared a screenshot of a graph displaying the full cash he spent on flights and motels for PGA Tour occasions within the 2024 season, revealing a staggering sum: $92,698.11.
That giant price accrued whereas Kim performed in 30 totally different PGA Tour occasions in 2024, together with stops in Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda and factors all throughout the continental U.S.
Kim added that the $92K+ whole he spent featured “zero {dollars} spent on personal flights, and barely enterprise class.” In contrast to some Tour stars, Kim at all times flies industrial, presumably making his journey prices far decrease than others, as he famous in his submit.
“Can’t think about among the prime guys’ prices,” Kim wrote.
Kim’s instance is useful to teach golf followers on how expensive it may be to be a professional golfer outdoors of the elite ranks. It’s important to spend huge to have any likelihood of creating a dwelling, and little cash is assured.
Kim, who has one profession Tour victory, nonetheless ended up within the inexperienced for the 2024 season. Regardless of lacking 13 cuts and solely capturing two top-10 finishes, Kim’s official cash for the season got here out to $1,484,233.
The lion’s share of these earnings, although, got here from simply 5 tournaments, additional displaying the monetary insecurity many gamers on the decrease rungs of the Tour face.
Sarcastically, his largest paycheck of the season was $310,800 for a T6-finish on the American Specific, which was simply his second begin of the 12 months and was performed in California, the state the place he grew up.
