You Didn't Earn It: The $10 Million Wyndham Rewards Is Over

A $10 million bonus pool designed to encourage players to show up at the Wyndham Championship will be ending after two years. This, after top players didn’t show up to collect their rewards and the entire thing was poorly conceived from the beginning.

Sympathies to all Wyndham employees who were affected by this awful idea and to the happy faces when this was announced in September, 2018.

John Lombardo at Sports Business Journal confirms what GolfNewsNet’s Ryan Ballengee had first hinted was looming.

The company will continue to keep its title sponsorship of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro. Its current title sponsorship deal runs through '26. The Tour in a statement said it fully supports Wyndham's "decision to focus solely on this long-standing event that has made such an impact in central North Carolina. We look forward to the continued growth and success of the Tour Top 10 program and expect to have further information in the coming months."

Two years ago it all sounded so brilliant, if you were an executive whose bonus depended on this silly idea.

The top-10 Regular Season finishers in FedExCup points through the Wyndham Championship – also sponsored by Wyndham Rewards – will reap the benefits of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. The leader will earn $2 million, followed by $1.5 million for the runner-up with the 10th-place finisher earning $500,000.  Additionally, each player in the top 10 will be invited into Wyndham Rewards at its most exclusive Diamond level, unlocking all the travel perks and unique Wyndham benefits that go along with it.

In spite of the “You’ve Earned It” slogan, the ultimate flaw was obvious: players did not have to show up at the Wyndham to earn the check or their Diamond level status. Still, thrills were guaranteed two years ago:

And while the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 will be recognized at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship, the impact of the program will be felt throughout the season; a player’s performance every week becomes more critical than ever before, elevating the significance of each tournament on the schedule and producing drama for PGA TOUR fans at every turn.

Drama. At. Every. Turn.