I know the AZB money list is not all-inclusive, but only 7 players show more than $50k in winnings on the 2012 list. If I was only averaging $50k/year and incurring all the expense of traveling to these events, I doubt I could turn down any tournament with a purse equal to that of the Open, regardless of whether the promoter had a sketchy record of paying players.
People are mostly talking about what it takes to get by, and $50k might be enough to do that with some level of comfort, but the serious question is "then what?". Even if a player can maintain that earnings level until age 50, what are they going to do for the remaining 30 years of their life? With interest rates like they are, they'd need to have a million or a million five in the bank to pay themselves in retirement, and that's without factoring in inflation or expenses due to serious illness. Unless they have a spouse with benefits and a pension plan, they will have to be very smart with their money to be comfortable in their golden years. How can a person in that position turn down any income opportunity?
I think the players will play - I don't think most of them have a choice.
Aaron
