TELFER’S TAKE 31.8.26

Odd as it may seem, you don’t always have to be in the winner’s circle in golf to pocket obscenely large barrels of money. Take the case of Ryan Fox. He clearly wasn’t at his best this week in the rich Tour Championship. A final round of 74, 4 over par, saw him finish 25th in a field of 29 yet he still took home $634,000. Scottie Scheffler, the winner, pocketed $16 million.

Meanwhile fellow Kiwi Steve Alker won for the second straight week on the Seniors PGA Tour. The prize money for the old blokes on the Seniors Tour sure doesn’t compare with the main tour, but Steve, I’m sure, won’t have any need any time soon to be visiting soup kitchens around America. His latest win came at the Ally Championship in Michigan earning him $507,000.

The moral of the story here, if there is one, is that, if you are a very good golfer playing

professionally in the United States, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re 25 or 55 years of age, neither does it really matter what tour you’re playing on, you’ll take home plenty of cash, regularly.

Steve Alker has never been a long hitter and so struggled for years on regular tours, living as it were off the smell of the proverbial oily rag. But bingo, how his life changed as soon as he hit 50 and became eligible to play the US PGA Seniors Tour where the courses are easier and shorter. Here he found his golfing niche. He’s still not a hugely long hitter. On the Seniors Tour he’s only ranked as the 29 th longest hitter. However five years on since joining the Seniors Tour and 14 wins later, he has now won over $20 million.

And poor old Foxy. Well we probably shouldn’t shed too many tears for him either with his 2025-2026 season finished. His winnings topped $10 million and his career earnings on the US Tour alone are now a fraction over $20 million.

Ryan, however, can now at best have a short break because in three weeks’ time he’ll be teeing it up as a member of the Presidents Cup team for their two-yearly joust against the formidable USA Team. And Ryan freely admits this is a big deal for him. Two years ago he narrowly missed selection and felt disappointed. So it came as no surprise when he stated at the start of this year that one of his main goals in 2026 was to earn a spot on the 12-strong Presidents Cup team. His win in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July made his selection a certainty. The Presidents Cup captain, Geoff Ogilvy, can only pick six players he wants because the top six picks come automatically from the Official World Golf Rankings. Ryan was the third highest ranked international golfer, so goes straight into the team.

This team, yet to be named, will look, on paper anyway, one of the strongest teams fielded by the international team. It will bring together the cream of Japanese, Korean, Australian, South African and Canadian golfers along with likes of Ryan Fox.

Yes given that it’s being played on American soil, it will be rowdy, at times I suspect probably excessively nationalistic. Will it get as nasty as it was at the Ryder Cup last year? Who knows. I have a sneaking suspicion Chicagoans might try to out do their New York citizens when it comes to so-called displays of patriotism. So tighten your seat belts.

Leading the American charge will be Scottie Scheffler who confirmed his ranking and status as the game’s leading player with a 3-shot win in the FedEx Cup final. Scheffler, for sure, won’t be egging on the American fans. That’s just not his style. But if the likes of Patrick Reed (Captain America) are included in that USA team, all I say is, watch out.