Only 2½ years ago, the USGA and R&A teamed to redefine the definition of an amateur golfer.
The “Modernized Rules of Amateur Status” lifted the restrictions on advertising, sponsorship and expense reimbursement and addressed other areas such as prize money and income-generating duties. Now, the line separating amateurs from professionals, once a clear and rigid demarcation, could be all but erased.
Asked about the possibility of paying amateurs who qualify for the U.S. Open in an era when top college golfers are paid via the NCAA’s name, image and likeness policy, USGA CEO Mike Whan opened the door to the possibility.
“We’ve tried to evolve NIL status, as the game has,” Whan said last week during the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, North Carolina. “We as the USGA kind of created an NIL and amateur-status angle before the NCAA did, so golf was kind of ahead of that time. I’m not sure. We may be headed to that path sooner rather than later.”
Last month, the NCAA and its Power 5 conferences, facing mounting legal pressure from current and former athletes, agreed to a revenue-sharing agreement that will pay college athletes directly.
Among the 16 amateurs who qualified for the Open, 13 played college golf during the recent spring season. All sported varying levels of sponsorship on their clothing and/or bags, Global Golf Post found, further blurring the lines between the professional and amateur games.
A USGA official told GGP that the amateurs would be reimbursed up to $3,000 for travel expenses.
Jon Kolbe, USGA
TAP-INS
Maxwell Ford and Phichaksn Maichon have been added to the U.S. and International teams, respectively, for next month’s Arnold Palmer Cup. Ford, a rising senior at North Carolina from Peachtree Corners, Georgia, is the twin brother of David Ford, a Tar Heel who also will be playing in the matches, which will pit the top male and female collegians in match play on July 5-7 at Lahinch (Ireland) Golf Club. Maichon is a rising senior at Texas A&M from Bangkok, Thailand. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon