Dan Bradbury’s career on the DP World Tour is still in its infancy after bursting on to the scene in South Africa at the end of 2022.
After a mightly impressive US college career in Tennessee, the 23-year-old headed to the Joburg Open in November and romped home by three shots – on just his third start on the tour.
The Yorkshireman banked 2,773,750 South African Rand, just over £113,000. Sihwan Kim earned more than that by coming last at LIV Golf Washington DC last week.
But, while speaking to The Slam – a National Club Golfer podcast – Bradbury believes perspective on prize money has been muddled by the dizzying sums offered by LIV Golf – and now the PGA Tour.
In response to the Saudi-financed league’s riches, the American circuit introduced elevated purse events in 2023 with average prize funds of $20 million, and are set to include a number of no-cut events in the 2024 schedule too – guaranteeing each player in the field a chunk of prize money.
Bradbury believes the DP World Tour has more than enough cash to please the bank accounts of its best players despite being unable to match the cash flow of its strategic alliance partner and rising opponent in LIV.
“I’d say some comments have been pretty harsh,” Bradbury said. “Not everyone agrees with what Keith Pelley does or what the tour is doing right now, but with the whole dynamic of world golf right now, it’s almost impossible to know what’s coming around the corner.
“The strategic alliance has been good for us in a lot of ways and maybe not in others, but we’re still playing on a great tour with good fields. There are a few weaker tournaments and everyone is allowed their own opinion.
“Someone will say it’s rubbish and some won’t – as a player, I’m getting to go to new countries and play good golf courses and we are still playing for a lot of money.
“People have been blinded by this whole LIV thing and the PGA Tour’s elevated events and thinking that everybody should be playing for $20 million every week. No, that’s not realistic.
“Just play for your two or three million, and if you win, you get half a million euros. You can’t complain about that, can you?
“I was playing mini-tour stuff last year and coming fifth and getting £800 – there are levels to this and we’re at the top.
“This is European tour golf and we’re playing for a lot of money. Just go out and enjoy it.”
Each of the next five DP World Tour events features prize funds of at least $2 million, with the Genesis Scottish Open in July holding a $9 million pot.
Harold Varner III won $4 million at Trump National Golf Club last week, while the winner of this week’s Memorial Tournament will receive $3.6 million.
Excessive prize funds seem to be the order of the day for tours to nail down their best players, but Bradbury has a distinctly different outlook on the subject.
The Wakefield man said it would be “ideal” to one day earn a PGA Tour card, but for now, he certainly has no qualms with the destinations and money available to him in Europe.
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