PGA Tour Champions players livid after losing pension fund amid league's growth: 'It's actually criminal'

Billy Andrade is livid after learning that the PGA Tour Champions, the PGA Tour’s senior circuit, has eliminated the pension program for golfers this week.  The PGA Tour used to offer the senior tour a $10 million pension program, though it was cut to just $8 million last year. Now, the Tour is opting to do away with the program altogether. “You've got all these millions flowing everywhere for Championship Series, this series, that series, for all these leagues this guy [new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp] is creating, and then they're taking this money that has been designated to these Champions players,” Andrade said, via Golfweek. “These are the players who helped make the Tour what it is today and helped create the jobs that executives and current players enjoy ... It's actually criminal."The news was delivered at the PGA Tour Champions’ first player meeting of the season by president Miller Brady. The goal that was relayed to the players, per the report, was that the PGA Tour Champions wants to stand on its own financially in the future.Previously, the pension program had been approved yearly. It started with a $250,000 allocation back in 1985, and has been a near-constant ever since. The only real break was when it was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Players could qualify by playing in at least 12 tournaments each season, and they earned retirement credits by finishing in the top 48 in an event.Brady said that the senior circuit, which is available for golfers age 50 or older, is finally at a place where they are making real money on their own. The financial performance of the tour, he said, “is as good as it’s ever been.”"While you never want to take anything away from the players, they also understand. They get it,” Brady said. “I told the guys, it's my job to raise prize money over time, and we've slowly started to do that. For a long time, we were just happy to renew sponsors."Though the PGA Tour Champions has undoubtedly grown in recent years — several regular-season tournaments have committed to having $3 million purses next season to match the five major championships, for example, and new tournaments are coming in — players clearly aren’t happy to be losing money. “They’re playing for $20 million almost every week [on the PGA Tour], and they can’t afford $10 million for our pension? It’s a bad look, in my opinion, and I think most of the guys out there feel that way,” David Toms said. Stewart Cink is the current leader on the Charles Schwab Cup Money List with nearly $3.8 million earned in 2026. Zach Johnson isn’t far behind at $3.3 million earned. Andrade earned roughly $12.5 million during his PGA Tour playing career, where he won four times, and he’s won more than $9.1 on the senior circuit in his career. Toms, with 13 PGA Tour wins, earned nearly $42 million in his career. He’s won five times on the PGA Tour Champions and earned nearly $10.3 million.While nobody wants to lose money, players competing week-in and week-out on the senior tour have a pretty great retirement gig. It’s a 54-hole format where players are allowed to ride in carts, and a few million dollars are up for grabs at each tournament. As far as retirement plans go, this one is hard to beat. And with the PGA Tour Champions growing the way it is, there’s only going to be more money available for players in the future.“The PGA Tour is a business. The powers that be are trying to run it like a business,” Paul Goydos said. “The books are what they are. You can’t run deficit spending. “Is it disappointing? Yes, it’s not good. But it’s understandable.”