“Chris DiMarco has made over $22,000,000” - Paige Spiranac blasts former golfer for urging LIV Golf takeover of Champions Tour
Paige Spiranac has had enough of pro golfers complaining about the money in the sport. Her ire was most recently directed at Chris DiMarco, who recently said he hopes that LIV Golf buys the Champions Tour. The money being paid out on that tour for veteran golfers is, in DiMarco's eyes, not enough.
Spiranac took to X (formerly Twitter) to put the professional golfer on blast:
"Chris DiMarco has made over 22 million dollars over his career on the course. That number is not counting sponsorship money. Hand up if you’re tired of pro golfers complaining about money."
The former LPGA Tour star noted that DiMarco has made a hefty sum of $22 million in his career, so complaining about playing for $2 million on a tour designed for aging golfers is not appropriate in Spiranac's eyes.
There's a lot of money being infused into golf right now, and not everyone believes it's enough. Some still think they and others should be paid more, and DiMarco seems to be among them. Spiranac, who doesn't even play professionally or make money from the pro sport anymore, isn't hearing it.
What did Chris DiMarco say about LIV Golf?
Chris DiMarco is getting blasted by Paige Spiranac and others. It's a familiar refrain when athletes complain about money, and Spiranac is echoing the sentiment that it's difficult to be upset with a career earning mark in the eight-figure range.
Nevertheless, DiMarco made headlines initially by hoping that the Champions Tour, a veteran tour sponsored by the PGA Tour, would be bought by LIV Golf. It's no secret that the money flows freely from there, and DiMarco wants a piece without having to transfer over to the tour itself.
DiMarco said (via Yahoo! Sports):
"We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour, to tell you the truth. Let’s play for a little real money out here. This is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week from TPC [Sawgrass, site of the Players Championship] that made more money than our (total tournament) purses."
He continued, admitting that he did play for some "good money" and that he was part of the Tiger Woods era, but it wasn't the same:
"Not like the kind of money these guys are playing for. Seems like every week there's another person passing me on the career money list after just a couple years on Tour."
The Champions Tour isn't as profitable as other golf tours. It doesn't have the fan attention, the impact on the sport, or anything else that leads the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, and even LIV to be as important and profitable as they are to the sport as a whole.
Plus, the PGA Tour is fighting a losing financial battle against LIV, so any extra money that's going around is being used to infuse their prize purses and entice players to stay, not funding the senior tour for older players.