Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Big Money Golf

If you like golf and like risking big money with a chance to win even more, than Big Stakes Match Play Golf is for your. The winning team from the tournament in May in Las Vegas will win 2-million dollars. The only problem is, that it will cost 1-hundred thousand just to get in.

“It is the richest purse in golf,” says Mark Santini, Director of Sales and Marketing for Big Stakes Golf. “Right now the players championship which just concluded, I believe, was an 8-million dollar purse, so these guys are playing for money even Tiger hasn’t played for.”

It’s for serious players, with a serious game and serious money. Just playing in this qualifier cost 30-thousand, but if you were one of the four winners here, you earned a 70-thousand dollar discount. Teams rely on money men like Ron Treat of Cave Creek, Arizona.

“Yes its a gamble,” says Treat. “But its kind of a fun gamble, something you can kind of get involved in. We have a hand shake agreement with the players.”

But that's the team investor's perspective. Someone has to play, and players from mini tours are lining up. Members of the PGA, European, Champions and Nationwide tours aren't eligible. Players dream of earning a portion of a 2-million dollar prize.

“I want to get out of debt to start with,” says Warren Schutte of Phoenix, Arizoa. “Most mini tour players are in debt. It would be nice to sleep at home one night, and not having to worry about actually making some credit card payments for a change.”

Craig Spence, his partner, is from Phoenix as well. “It would probably go straight into the house, yeah, most of it, buy my wife a little something, maybe even myself a little something.”

Because of the success last year, they doubled the teams from 64-to 128 teams, it has changed the odds, but it still better odds than you'll find anyplace in Vegas.

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