$45 To Watch Golf?
Friday, March 18, 2005 at 09:54 PM “The players say they don't like appearance fees, and most of them mean it. [Arnold] Palmer has come out against guaranteed money and said IMG wouldn't be doing this if McCormack were still alive.”
"Mark was a businessman and used a lot of business tactics," Palmer said. "But."
But what? McCormack drew the appearance fee line just short of the PGA Tour? Right!
Whitley also points out that fans and charities would ultimately pay for the mess left behind by appearance fees. He notes something rather startling about Thursday at Bay Hill: “It is example 13,198,384 of what IMG does quite well -- make money for its clients…Example 13,198,385 comes today, when anyone holding a Thursday ticket will have to spend $45 on a Friday ticket. Sorry, no rain checks despite the fact about half the field didn't get its feet wet Thursday.”
Forget the rain checks! Uh, $45 to go to a golf tournament?