Our Golf Competition Rules
Setup/The Tours: The entrance fee is $25 for the year ($5 per major plus a $2.50 contribution to the year end Cup pool "the Cup" and a $2.50 contribution to our Champion of Champions. See below.)
The Four Majors
Players (that's us, not the golfers) compete in foursomes, with the winner of each foursome winning $20*. Currently there are four foursomes: The PGA Tour, The Nationwide Tour, the Pitch 'n Putt Tour, and the Mini Golf Tour. The last place finishers on the PGA, Nationwide, and Pitch 'n Putt Tours are sent down to the lower bracket for the next major, while the winners of the Nationwide, Pitch 'n Putt, and Mini Golf Tours move up a bracket for the next major.Picks: Each player picks 4 golfers and 2 alternates (alt #1 and alt #2). Send your picks by 11:30 pm Wednesday the day before the tournament. If you want to pick one of the top 4 players on the World Golf Rankings you can only pick one of them for your foursome. You can pick another one of them as an alternate. If you violate the rule and pick 2 of the top 4 for your foursome, you will be allowed to use the higher ranked player in your foursome, but you cannot use an alternate to replace your second top 4 pick. That slot will be assigned the worst finishing score. You must pick players in the field scheduled to compete. If you pick a player who is not scheduled to play in the major, that pick is assigned the worst finishing score for the tournament. You do not use your alternate for that pick.
Alternates are only used if one of your 4 picks does not start the tournament (late withdrawal, etc.) or if every player in your foursome has a common pick. If your pick does not start the tournament and he is in the "top 4", he is replaced by your first alternate. If he is not a "top 4", then he is replaced by your first alternate that is not "top 4". If there are common picks, that pick is eliminated and everyone's next available alternate is used.
Scoring: The scores of the 4 golfers are added up within each foursome to determine the winner of each foursome. If a golfer misses the cut, or starts but does not finish the tournament (withdraws, is disqualified, etc.), he gets the worst finishing score of all golfers in that tournament (not just golfers who are in our competition). If you pick a golfer who is not in the top 25 of the World Golf Rankings (see the list) and he makes the cut, that golfer earns an additional -1 point. Also, any of your golfers who finish in the top 5 for the tournament, including ties, earns an additional -1 point.
Tiebreakers: If two players finish tied for 1st when the scores of their 4 golfers are added up, the winner is the player with the best score from among their 4 picks. (Example: John and Mike each end up tied for 1st at -10. Mike's best player had a -7, while John's best player had a -5. Mike wins.) If still tied, compare the next best score, etc. If two players finish tied for last in a group, the player sent down is the player with the worst best score. (Example: Eric and Bob each are tied for last at +30. Eric's best player had a -3, while Bob's best player had a +4. Eric wins the tiebreak, and Bob is sent down.)
* If every group is a foursome, each group wins the $20 at stake in their group. If the Mini Golf Tour has only 3 players, the winner wins $15. If the Mini Golf Tour has 5 players, the winner only wins $20 and the extra $5 goes to the winner of the PGA Tour.
The Cup
To be eligible to compete in the Cup, you must win one of the 4 majors, from any group. The Cup will be one group competition of all majors winners, winner take all. The prize pool is $2.50 per player from our entire pool. Cup rules are different from the majors. (Here are our slightly different rules for the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup.)Champion of Champions
The other $2.50 per player is awarded to the player who wins the most majors during the year. For example, if only one player wins 3 (or even just 2) of the 4 majors, that player is our Champion of Champions. If there is a tie (several players have 2 or 3 wins), the player with the more elite group wins is the winner. For example, winning one from the PGA group and one from the Nationwide group is better than 2 Nationwide group wins. (Of course, there could still be a tie and a split pot if both players have exactly the same group wins.)Note: You do not have to participate in the Cup and Champion of Champions pools, but you must opt out before the Masters begins.
