Life on the road is tough, but PGA Tour membership has its privileges.
With 112 players earning more than $1 million in official money in 2018-19, PGA Tour pros can afford to fly private. It’s one of the perks of a lifestyle that has them on the road an average of 27 weeks per year.
But not everyone flies in style.
On the podcast The Erik Anders Lang Show, first-round Waste Management Phoenix Open leader Wyndham Clark discussed how as a 26-year-old pro in his sophomore season with a paltry $1.6 million in career earnings, he still mostly slums it flying commercial.
“I don’t fly that often private unless a buddy hooks me up with that,” Clark said.
Which led Anders Lang to ask, “Who’s the buddy?”
Clark explained that he had become friendly with some veterans who lived in Las Vegas, where he kept a residence during his rookie season, and they would sometimes say, “Hey, do you want to hop on?”
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Then Clark details how Ryan Moore, a 37-year-old five-time Tour winner with more than $31 million in earnings and a longtime Las Vegas resident, would often give him a lift home.
“He was awesome,” Clark said. “He didn’t make me pay. It was definitely a very luxurious thing.”
Which led to Anders Lang saying, “Oh, because he could’ve hit you with a Venmo after.”
“Yeah, Venmo for a couple thousand,” Clark joked, before spilling the beans about that one time when Moore hit him with a bill. (Hey, gas ain’t cheap these days.)
“The funny thing about that, and I gave him some crap for that, too, as I started playing better and locked up my card and made it to the (FedEx Cup) playoffs, he said, ‘Hey, after this event do you want to fly home?’ I was like, ‘Sure, sure.’ He said, ‘It’s going to be about $2,500.’ So, he hit me with a Venmo. I was like, ‘Man, I already had a flight home for like $200. I don’t know if I can justify spending $2,500.”
If Clark holds on to win this week, he’ll take home a winner’s check good for $1,314,000, so there may be more private jet rides home in his future.
