Among the many countries Michael Kim flew to during the 2024 PGA Tour season was Mexico for the World Wide Technology Championship.
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The life of a PGA Tour pro can seem great, running around the world and coming back year after year chasing big purses. But to achieve all that swing, pro golfers rely on, well, jets. And all that air travel, and hotel stays once they arrive, comes at a staggering cost.
We know that thanks to Tour pro Michael Kim. Kim has become one of the leading social media followers of golfers. He always provides valuable and interesting insight into the backstage life of a PGA Tour pro, both good and bad.
It’s the kind of transparency that modern sports fans love to see, and Kim gave her latest dose this week to her fans on X.
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In a post Friday morning, Kim shared a screenshot of a graph showing all the money he’s spent on flights and hotels at PGA Tour events for the 2024 season, revealing a staggering total: $92,698.11.
Those huge expenses were accumulated while Kim played in 30 different PGA Tour events in 2024, including stops in Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda and points across the continental US.
Kim added that the $92K+ total he spent represents “zero dollars spent on private flights, and rarely business class.” Unlike other Tour stars, Kim always flies commercial, which probably makes his travel costs much lower than others, as he said in his post.
“I can’t imagine some of the top boys’ expenses,” Kim wrote.
Kim’s example is useful in teaching golf fans how much it costs to be a top golfer without the top standards. You have to spend a lot of money to have any chance of making a living, and little money is guaranteed.
Kim, who has one career Tour victory, remains on the green for the 2024 season. Despite missing 13 cuts and scoring two top 10s, Kim’s official earnings for the season are out. $1,484,233.
The lion’s share of that money, however, came from just five tournaments, reflecting the financial insecurity of many players at the lower levels of the Tour face.
Ironically, his biggest salary this season was $310,800 in the T6 finals at American Express, which was his second start of the year and was played in California, the state where he grew up.
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