The Distribution of Performance and Earnings in a Prize Economy

Golfer prize money is distributed by golfer performance (rank order of finish in tournaments), with payment per unit of output nonconstant. The golf economy is one of the few examples of a pure prize economy. In this article, Professional Golfers Association golfer prize money is shown to be linked to scoring average, which is normally distributed. The nonlinear prize structure is shown to be the source of the considerable inequality in prize earnings.