The PNC Father-Son Challenge is a fun silly-season event, where 20 major-winning men team up with their sons, daughters or grandchildren to compete in a 36-hole scramble.
The PNC Father-Son Challenge purse is $1.085 million, with the winning team earning $200,000, and the prize money payout going down from there. However, many of the sons, daughters or grandchildren competing with the fathers in the competition are amateurs. It's reasonable to ask, then, if the children competing in the PNC Father-Son Challenge get paid.
Under the USGA and R&A rules of maintaining amateur status, the children competing cannot win prize money if they're an amateur golfer before the tournament. Not every child competing in the event is an amateur, however. The restrictions for the tournament don't allow the competing offspring to have a Tour card under the PGA Tour umbrella. So, it is possible for a son to be a professional player and earn money.
For example, Davis Love III's son, Dru Love, is a professional golfer and competing in the event. The pair will split the money evenly per the payout of the tournament. However, Jack Nicklaus is a professional and his grandson, G.T., is not. So Jack Nicklaus gets all of the money, while G.T. doesn't officially collect any of the prize money.
The money isn't really the point of this event so much as fathers, sons, daughters and grandkids getting together for a special two days of golf under competitive conditions.
