$200,000 the handicap for a round with Singh or Els

A GOLF magazine has revealed that top players like Vijay Singh and Ernie Els are available as playing partners to the public - if you have between $100,000 to $200,000 to spend on the privilege.

Golf World magazine has published details of a letter sent by the International Management Group to PGA tournament directors proposing Monday tournaments involving an array of top stars.

The letter states: “IMG will secure 5 Tour professionals, who will join an intimate group of 6 foursomes on Monday afternoon. It is IMG’s intention to secure 5 players, focusing on those who traditionally have not played your tournament - these professionals will look favourably upon staying for the tournament, which would enhance the strength of the field.”

The suggestion in the letter that players paid to play on Monday will then stay on for the tournament is a direct challenge to the PGA Tour’s rule against appearance fees, and a PGA spokesman said the organisation would review the solicitation and take whatever steps deemed necessary to address the situation.

However, most people will focus on the cost of a round with the world’s best golfers. The price list offered by IMG - described as “for reference only” - was included with the letter sent to tournament directors.

Tier one players, costing between $100,000 and $200,000, include Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, John Daly and Davis Love III.

The tier two players, costing between $50,000 and $100,000 include David Duval, Todd Hamilton, Chris DiMarco, Charles Howell III, Luke Donald, Mike Weir, Stuart Appleby, K.J. Choi, Jesper Parnevik, Ben Curtis, Fred Couples and Jim Furyk.

This is not the first time IMG has sailed close to the wind when it comes to PGA Tour rules. The company was criticised when four of its players - Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington - were paid $600,000 to play golf with employees from Ford, the company that sponsored last week’s PGA tournament at Doral, Florida. However, Tour officials later confirmed that neither Ford nor IMG had broken any rules in doing so and had sought permission in advance to stage the event.

IMG’s most famous client is not mentioned in the leaked letter. Tiger Woods earns an estimated $80 million annually in commercial endorsements and could command far higher figures than those quoted by IMG. For example, recent charity auctions offering bidders a round with the world’s No1 have raised as much as $500,000.