Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

One of my friends suggested the other day that I could consider writing less about Donald Trump.  This friend has a point, but with Trump heading to the White House amidst many outlandish proposals, he might continue to be fodder for more blogs.

Not today, though.

I turn to the lure of big money that is driving sports these days.  The trend has bothered me on several counts:

• Professional golfers have been defecting from the PGA Tour, which gave them a solid place in golf.  Now, some of them head to LIV for insane amounts of money, even though LIV is funded by tainted money from Saudi Arabia.

• Four PAC 12 football teams have defected from the PAC 12 to the “Big Ten” (which I add is a inaccurate label because that conference now consists of 18 teams).  The teams are the University of Washington, the University of Southern California, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Oregon.

• And, now, a third case:  U.S. players on the new Ryder Cup golf team, not yet selected, will now will be paid $400,000 each “to play for their country.”  This, at least in part, appears to be a response to a plea from certain players – read, Patrick Cantlay – to be paid for their “work” at the Ryder Cup.

Ron Green, Jr., a writer for Global Golf Post, wrote a recent column criticizing the decision by the PGA of America to pay players.

“It diminishes,” he said, “the notion that players in the Ryder Cup are playing for something other than themselves – for team and country.”

By contrast, the team from Europe won’t be paid for the 2025 event. 

A great player for Europe, Shane Lawry, said he doesn’t want to be paid.  He said it is more than enough to play for your country.

The announcement that U.S. Ryder Cup players would get $400,000 each came in the midst of another piece of controversial news – customer ticket prices for the 2025 event have skyrocketed to $750 apiece, which is likely to prompt some potential buyers to pass.

Again, it appears to be all about the money – in pro golf, in the Ryder Cup, in college sports.

For my part, if those getting the money would just admit they were doing it for the money rather than for some other exalted purpose, I would be fine with that declaration.

One example is pro golfer Harold Varner who said he was heading to LIV “because of the money and to set up his family up for life.”  Good for him to be honest and open.

Others said they were leaving “to grow the game of golf.” 

Hogwash!