By JOE McDONOUGH
TIGER Woods is to play in the Australian Masters but at what cost to the Victorian taxpayer. Is the $3 million appearance fee a fair price for the world number 1?
What is an appearance fee?
An appearance fee is a sum of money offered to a golfer to play in an event which is not on the golfer’s regular calendar.
Tournament directors look to attract well known players to create more interest which in turn increases the ability to promote their event.
Walter Hagan reportedly received upwards of $40 to play in exhibition tournaments in the 1920s but it was the great Ben Hogan who controversially accepted $5000 to play in the Pan American Open in which defending champion Lloyd Mangrum was offered nothing.
The simple origins of the appearance fee include Hogan breaking course records at an agreed upon price. Spectators would pay their admission to see the nine time major winner shoot the lowest scores.
Who attracts appearance fees today?
Greg Norman was Tiger Woods’ predecessor in terms of putting a price on the worth of his appearance. During the 1990s the Great White Shark demanded a fee usually between $200,000 and $250,000. In 1996 Norman commanded an appearance fee of $400,000 to play in the South Australian Open. He copped plenty of criticism, as the Open was in dire straits and he could have used his influence to help the local tournament and just played for the prize money which equalled his asking price.
Plenty of players on the tour have the golfing skills to be attractive propositions but it is character that draws the crowds and headlines. Fitting into that category is the big hitting Texan ‘ “Long” ’ John Daly. In 2002 Daly received $200,000 to play at the Australian PGA. Five years earlier Daly shot 83 before completing the final round in just over two hours failing to justify his appearance fee . The PGA must have been hoping for Daly to create another headline and he didn’t let them down, throwing his putter into a lake and verbally abusing an official after being disqualified for failing to sign his scorecard.
Every tournament will choose Tiger Woods as the first choice to throw their money at. In the 2001 season when he had just won his sixth major, Woods earned more in appearance fees than he won in total winnings the year before. In 2000, he won $8.2 million including three majors but he accrued $10 million the following year without even teeing-up.
Is he worth $3 million?
The overwhelming consensus is yes. Victorian Premier John Brumby commissioned the accounting firm Ernst & Young to conduct an economic impact study and the prediction from that result was that Tiger’s appearance will contribute approximately $19 million into the Victorian economy.
The Australian Masters is the first pre-sold out tournament in Australia’s history, with 100,000 fans snapping up the tickets by early October and many more being sold for the Tuesday practice round and Wednesday Pro-Am priced at $10 and $30 respectively.
This shows the support for golf in this country and the sport’s potential to grow. Last year two of the three Australian majors were without a title sponsor. As a result of Tiger’s appearance the Masters has been able to sign JB Were as its naming rights sponsor.
Australian golfer Stuart Appleby endorses the decision.
“He is the Pied Piper for television and for sports fans,” Appleby said. “I think it’s money well-spent, a no-brainer. The hardest thing wasn’t going to be getting the money, it was getting Tiger to say he’d do it.”
But what about the Victorian taxpayer?
During this time of financial frailty, when people are losing their jobs and struggling with day to day costs, should the Victorian taxpayer be expected to fork out half the bill?
It is all very well to say that the world’s first billion dollar sportsman will be the catalyst for a $19 million boost to the economy but that wont help the ‘ “average joe” ’ in the short term.
Victorians will pay Tiger five times more than the monetary prize for the winner at Kingston Heath.
State opposition leader Ted Baillieu cannot justify the price tag.
“At a time like this, when people are losing their jobs, it’s hard to believe that the Victorian public would think that this is a good idea,” he said. “When there is concern about high levels of executive salary, the government’s spending 1.5 million dollars on the highest paid sportsman in the world to come here for a tournament which is not an international tournament.”
What would happen if we did not attract Tiger Woods down under?
The US PGA has a strict policy prohibiting appearance fees on the tour. It is not so easy for other countries which require the big names to promote their events and attract revenue from sponsorship, advertising and television.
Australia being a small name in golf has always struggled to pull the big names since Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Tournament organisers of the Australian Masters are hoping that in attracting Tiger Woods for a tournament it will motivate more people on the American tour to come here.
