It’s been a rough year for Scott Hend. On Friday, he revealed just how costly a slump can be when golf is your day job.
The long-hitting Aussie is a three-time European Tour winner, a 10-time Asian Tour winner, and played on the PGA Tour for a couple seasons, even leading the tour in driving distance in 2005.
But since his last worldwide win three years ago at the Maybank Championship, it’s been a bit of a struggle, particularly in 2022. Hend has entered nine tournaments and failed to make a single cut. And he shared just how expensive it is to play pro golf around the world when you’re not making any money. He’s also had a health scare recently.
“Some useful info for the Golf Fans out there…. So far in 2022 I’ve missed 9 from 9 cuts and haven’t made a cent…. I’ve been on the road playing since 17th Jan. I have burnt through approx $50k usd. This is Pro Golf people and I love it. Better times coming soon,” he wrote on Twitter.
Ouch. And as Hend explained in subsequent tweets, that doesn’t include all his expenditures from home. Again, ouch. The life of golf’s elite is often glamourised, but being a tour pro—a regular tour pro—is tough.
Hend added that good tour pros usually hope to make enough money off the course to cover their annual expenses. However, he didn’t say if his current endorsement situation makes that true.
