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Unofficial Events Are Very Lucrative

The FedEx Cup, which starts in 2007, is a season-long PGA Tour competition, capped by four "playoff" tournaments. The intent is to keep you interested throughout the season instead of losing the love after the PGA Championship in August. Of the $35 million purse, the winner's share is $10 million, the largest single bonus awarded in all of sports (and nearly double what Jack Nicklaus earned in his career). Second through fifth place get $3 million, $2 million, $1.5 million and $1 million, respectively. The regular-season points race won't likely drum up much excitement, and the FedEx Cup won't steal any thunder from the majors.

The playoffs, however, might be a different story. They'll add intrigue to what is typically a dull part of the season, and the timing couldn't be better: Football's just begun and the baseball playoffs haven't. What else are you gonna watch? Maybe, an "unofficial" tournament, one which does not count towards the money list of one of the professional golf tours. Some unofficial events are very lucrative. Most of them are played in the "off season" each November and December. The PGA Tour runs from January-September, the LPGA and the European Tour from January-November, and the Seniors Tour from January-October.

Grand Slam of Golf

The PGA Grand Slam of Golf, the season-ending showcase featuring golf’s premier foursome. The 36-hole stroke-play event is open to the winners of the year’s Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship. Should a player win more than one major championship in a season, the foursome will be completed through a Major Champions Points List composed of past major champions who compete in the current year’s majors. An invitation only tournament, it is considered golf's most difficult tournament to qualify for.

The Million Dollar Challenge

Way back in 1981 it became the first golf tournament ever to offer a prize purse of US$1-million, with the winner taking home $500 000. When the field was increased to 10 players the following year, the winner's share of the million dollars shrunk to $300,000 - still more than the money on offer to the winner of any of the majors.

In 1987, in a once-off, the winner took all of the $1-million prize purse. The following year, while the winner's prize remained a million dollars, the minor places were also rewarded. And in 2000, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, at Sun City in South Africa's North West province has became the first golf tournament ever to offer a cool US$2-million to the winner.

The event is scheduled around the beginning of December every year, after the world's different leading tours have finished for the year, thus allowing the players to come to South Africa for some golf that is financially well rewarded, as well as to take in some rest and relaxation at the same time. The tournament is a twelve man invitational stroke play event.

Shootout

The Skins Game

The 'skins game' has gone from seaport furriers to weekend amateurs to public links hustlers to touring professionals, and that is where it is today. It started in 1983 on Thanksgiving Weekend and it has been played every year since. The first four players in the Skins Game - as it is now referred to - were Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson.

They're not playing for each other's money; that is provided by the tournament sponsors! Each hole is assigned a different monetary value and the golfer who wins the hole with the best score outright wins the money for that hole. In the event that two or more golfers tie (which is called "halving") on a hole, the skins carry over to the next hole. In the event that two or more golfers halve the final hole, a playoff begins until one golfer wins a hole outright. (In a playoff that requires more than one playoff hole, if a player is not one of those that halve the playoff hole, he is eliminated - it is not "one tie, all tie".)

The Senior Skins Game from 1988 to 2005, was played as an individual event with four players (five in 1991). Beginning in 2006, it was played as an alternate-shot two-man team event with four teams. The inaugural match was played in 1988 at Turtle Bay Golf Club on Oahu, and the second in 1989 at the Mountain Course at the La Quinta Hotel Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif.

Tavistock Cup

Isleworth and Lake Nona, two master planned golf communities, both opened their doors in 1986. They enjoyed early success and their credible reputation was earned largely on the strength of their respective golf courses. For various reasons, both Isleworth and Lake Nona sought new ownership less than ten years into their existence. Fortunately, Tavistock Group saw the enormous potential of the properties and acquired both of them between 1993 and 1996.

Tavistock's commitment to their goal was soon realized as high profile athletes, celebrities and CEO's began taking up residence. Naturally, the largest group of professional athletes that began to call Isleworth and Lake Nona home were the touring golf professionals. As the roster of touring golf professionals deepened at both clubs so did the locker room conversation about who might win a tournament if they played one another. Tavistock decided to explore this idea with a couple of key players, Mark O'Meara from Isleworth and Ernie Els from Lake Nona. Mark and Ernie both embraced the concept, provided some insightful suggestions and then agreed to be captains for their respective teams.

The Tavistock Cup has become the bona fide World Golf and Country Club Championship. The touring professional members at Isleworth and Lake Nona have racked up more than 590 worldwide victories and 43 Major Championships. The Tavistock Cup is one of the most sought after tickets in sports as the gallery is limited to approximately 3,500 invited guests. The Tavistock Cup's "no ropes" structure provides unparalleled access to watch the best players in the world compete.

Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge

The Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge is an engaging event without the frazzled nerves. It's the only tournament of the year which features golfers from each of the big three tours going head-to-head to determine which tour reigns supreme. The 3-Tour Challenge pairs three-player teams from the three major U.S. tours against each other in stroke-play matches. To even the competition, the tours tee off from different distances. What makes the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge special?

First of all there is a lack of good golf at this time of the year so it's a plus if you can catch the big names from all three tours in one spot. Secondly, the players are miked so that viewers can hear their conversations and feel as if we're a member of their team. Third and most importantly, this event benefits kids through the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

World Challenge

For golf at the highest level, the Target World Challenge presented by Countrywide is the final tournament of the year in the United States. It also happens to be a popular hangout for international players. The tournament was established as a charity fundraiser by Tiger Woods, and all the charitable funds raised go to charities with which he is associated.

The 16-man field is determined largely by the world rankings, and it no longer is surprising to see so few Americans. Americans still own the majors, having won 28 of the last 40. The depth, however, comes from overseas. The first tournament had nine Americans in the 12-man field in late 1999 and there were nine Americans in the 16-man field in 2002.

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