DailyExpertNews
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Watching live sports has gone up in price over the years, but enough is enough for Justin Thomas.
The 2017 PGA Championship winner is not happy with what fans will have to pay for drinks and food during the Major edition this year.
When Thomas got wind of a report from Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio that it will cost fans $18 for a beer and $16 for a salad at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he felt he had to say something.
Thomas replied to the tweet with the report expressing his disbelief.
“$18 (!!!!!!) for a beer…uhhh what. You gotta treat the fans better than that!” said the 29-year-old.
When a twitter user challenged Thomas where he thought the big prize pool for the winner came from, Thomas said humorously: “TV deals, ticket sales, corporate sponsors, etc. Looks like we’d be playing for $15 million if the concession stands were included in our wallets.”
In his pre-tournament press conference, Thomas was asked about the prizes, and he again expressed his surprise and disappointment. He said it was something that had been commented on among his fellow players in the locker room.
“I just saw it and I was blown away,” he said. “It’s just a downer. You want people to come to the tournament. Standing on the fence and looking at the concession stand is not the best. But at the same time, people don’t like to come to a tournament like, ‘Oh, I’m going to buy a Michelob Ultra’, you know what I mean.”
“I was just blown away because I’ve never seen an $18 or $19 beer in my life,” he said. “Guys talked about it, so I had to stick up for the fans. It felt like it made sense.”