Akshay

[tungstenplug]

Yep, 17 year old kid and will make more money this year than most of us....except he gets to do it by traveling around the world playing awesome golf courses. Likely earned a 6 figure appearance fee this week playing over in Saudi Arabia. I don't think he's missing out on English 101 at some SEC school. He has unlimited time to perfect his craft and not worry about class and freshman study hall and team lifts. We'd all trade places with him

[CenCalGolfer]

Would be curious to see the writing of these types of contracts. I'm sure with such a young player, yes I get the name brings notoriety, but at what point does Callaway need to see a return on their investment. MC each and every week doesn't do them much good. I hope the best for the kid, and hate seeing people stumble and fail. I hope that something clicks and turns around for him and finds the weekends and eventually gets wins and other accolades.

[iteachgolf]

They are essentially guaranteed contracts. There are bonuses involved based on finishes but a good chunk he will get whether he makes it or not

[Noles]

Not all of us. I would not have wanted that life as a 17 year old. I would want to be around people my age, not adults trying to grind out a living. I would have chosen the 1-2 year college route, but that's me.

[kekoa]

I heard the same. Something like $1MM while guys like Wolff & Morikawa received significantly more from TM, which has obviously proven to be a solid business decision for them.

[CenCalGolfer]

Looks like another MC in the Saudi tournament. Really unfortunate that this has continued. Hopefully he can right the ship!

What do you think the main problem is? Age and between the ears? Swing? Or not enough seasoning, yet.

[kekoa]

A good mixture of everything. I can only imagine it gets exponentially harder as he continues to miss cuts.

[leezer99]

He beat elite juniors but not elite amateurs before turning pro. I'd believe the jump might have been a bit high for him to overcome.

[Judge440]

Should have stuck with TM if possible IMO and stuck with what got him thus far. Why introduce a variable at this critical juncture. TM has superior product anyway IMO.

[tiger1873]

 

The top players in the world are much much better then The top amateur. Most people underestimate how good you have to be to make a cut week in week out. They also forget those making the cut were top amateurs at one time too.

having said that it does take time anytime you play a higher level and any player who was a top amateur has been in a position where they need to prove themselves before when they were rising in the amateur ranks so I would not bet against him either.

[BloctonGolf11]

To me he has always seemed to be very immature. His attitude towards school being a complete waste has always been a signal to me that he was in no way prepared to contend at the professional level. Typically, athletes who jump straight from High School to the professional leagues and are successful seem to be more mature than their age suggests (Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Kevin Garnett) while the ones who struggle or fail (Kwame Brown, Sebastian Telfair) did not seem to have the maturity to deal with the rigors of being a professional athlete. I think Akshay has been raised with this idea that his ascension was guaranteed, hence why he has literally no back up plan beyond professional golf.

[Medson]

MC in Saudi. Has he made any cuts so far?

[JuniorGolfParent]

Justin Rose missed the cut in his first 21 tournaments as a professional. I think it might be early to write Akshay off after just 5 months since turning pro.

[b.helts]

You are right. However, Akshay didn't finish 4th in a major as an amateur and of all the many, many professional golfers that missed their first 21 cuts, I'd bet the farm Justin Rose is the only one that "made it".

So, again, you're right. But it sure doesn't bode well.

[JuniorGolfParent]

I agree the odds are against him. I just think it’s too early to judge his decision considering most competitive juniors his age are seniors in high school and haven’t even started college yet.

[GoGoErky]

Not competing at higher levels in amateur ranks before turning pro. Similar to Wie. She went from playing against amateurs roughly her age to playing in pga events and then turning pro with no college experience or higher level competition.

[tiger1873]

An amateur doesn’t need to make cuts week in week out if you have a few big wins it is big deal and your stature grows. Once you turn pro your not only expected to win you have to be competitive week in week out. Sponsors do not want a guy who can’t even make the cut and have short memories. Once you turn pro the clock starts ticking. Maybe he got enough money it doesn’t matter?

In akshay case he is under a lot pressure probably more then he needed. He probably needs to make few cuts soon before he becomes a footnote.

 

[mcputter]

Justin Rose turned pro at 17, missed his first 21 cuts. His career has turned out OK.

[ALIF]

Yeah, I think I’ll go get a lottery ticket b/c someone wins every month.

[the bishop]

My question is why is he competing in the events he is competing in? He is a teenager competing against the best of the best on the highest caliber tours. That's a big ask of anybody. It takes time to learn how to be a pro, from time management and continued skills development to just getting comfortable playing higher level competitive golf. What he's doing is really a recipe for what is happening - getting his head kicked in on a weekly basis. He really should be on a developmental tour somewhere where his performance won't be as scrutinized by the media and WRX'ers (hehe) and he can develop and hopefully build some confidence rather than keep enduring the soul crushing beatdowns he's experiencing now.

[leezer99]

I think the events he is playing in are all sponsors exemptions.

[extrastiff]

I think I’ll get a 4 year degree that I have a 20% chance of actually using in my career.

[the bishop]

Yes I understand that's what they are. I know he doesn't have status and really its fine to test the waters to see where your game is at compared to the best. But I don't know what else he and his team needs to see to come to the conclusion he's not ready for this level yet. Who knows, maybe he'll turn it around and I'm not wishing anything bad on him. I'd just like to see him take his game to a smaller tour.

[BloctonGolf11]

That 4 year degree allows you to get a myriad of decent paying jobs so yeah I think I will take the paid for 4 year degree he would of gotten if he wasn't an entitled "chosen one".

[leezer99]

Sometimes big decisions are so complicated, it's almost impossible to know with certainty that you are making the right one. Everyone here for the most part is making the decision to eliminate regret while the person the decision impacts has made a decision by knowing his purpose in life, having a calm mental attitude and a forward looking vision that allows him to move towards a goal without said regret.

 

[heavy_hitter]

Just because you work in a field non related to a degree doesn't mean you don't use your degree. That 27% chance is better than what Rose had.

[tiger1873]

The average college degree is not worth much by itself. I think the average salary is 60k. So just going to college does not much for someone. Now if you go to college actually learn something then it can open doors for you and make you more money. This why playing college golf or really any sport is attractive these days vs just being a regular college student.

I heard a college coach talk about the difference in pay for college athletes and it was significant. Enough that you have to be a pretty good golfer to come out ahead. Not unreasonable to see 6 figures for grads in Athletic programs.

Now in Akshay's case the fact he played with the top players in the world means he has more opportunities than any of us reading this. He probably doesn't want to work for anyone anyways so the college degree is really only needed if you work for someone else.

[BloctonGolf11]

Average salary of 60k not worth much? For a married couple that means $120,000 a year, solid middle class right there. Average high school diploma yearly income is $27,000. I see what your point is but trying to act like $60,000 a year is not a perfectly fine existence is a bit silly Tiger.

[tiger1873]

I am not saying 60k is horrible but even 120k doesn't go far today in a lot major cities you can't even buy a house in a bad neighborhood in places like New York and LA and will be pretty poor if you have a family of 4 on that income. Also if you go to college and are not on track to make 6 figures I think you either chose the wrong profession or chose the wrong college and degree. I also know people who didn't go to college started a business and make well over 7 figures a year.

College is great and good for a lot people but it has nothing to do with income that person will actually make that comes from hard work and little luck. The degree athletes get is not what is valuable it is the doors it opens and the fact that these kids are very hard workers also helps.

[leezer99]

FWIW, of the undergrad degrees you get from any UC school the most valuable is actually from UCSB. 5 years after graduation they are earning more than the other UC school graduates.