Add Paige Spiranac’s name to the list of golf enthusiasts perplexed by PGA Tour winner Chris DiMarco’s seven-figure gripe.
During a recent appearance on the “GOLF’s Subpar” podcast, DiMarco — a former Masters runner-up who plays on the PGA’s Champions Tour of seasoned golfers — was asked about the temperature on the circuit surrounding LIV Golf.
“We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour,” the 55-year-old DiMarco said. “Let’s play for a little real money out here. This is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week from TPC [Sawgrass, where the The Players Championship takes place] that made more money than our purses.”
Last week’s Hoag Classic event of the Champions Tour had a purse of $2 million with winner Padraig Harrington receiving $300,000.
With LIV Golf events, the individual winner receives $4 million while those on the same team split a prize in the $3 million ballpark.
Though DiMarco’s remarks could have been intended to be light-hearted, they struck a nerve with some in the golf community, including Spiranac.
“Chris DiMarco has made over 22 million dollars over his career on the course. That number is not counting sponsorship money,” the longtime golf influencer, 31, wrote Wednesday on X.
“Hand up if you’re tired of pro golfers complaining about money.”
A separate user posted of the take, “This is comical,” while another added, “Siri, define entitled.”
DiMarco turned pro in 1990 and has won three PGA Tour events, netting $22 million.
He placed second to Tiger Woods in the 2005 Masters and was the runner-up to the 15-time major winner in the 2006 Open Championship.
DiMarco said he was “fortunate” to play as purses increased with Woods’ rise in the sport.
“I got to play for some good money, but not like the kind of money these guys are playing for,” he said on the podcast. “It seems like every week there’s another person passing me on the career money list in just a couple years being on Tour.”
DiMarco then circled back to LIV, which poached big-name stars such as Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson from the Tour with multi-million dollar contracts, and noted he doesn’t “fault any of those guys” for defecting.
“If you had asked me the same thing in 2004, ’05 when I was at the height of my career, see ya later, I’m gone, and it’d be a purely monetary thing for me. You’re talking generational money these guys are making, it’d be nice to have that in the bank and have your kids taken care of and all that,” he said.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf announced an impending merger in a bombshell move last summer.
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