Anyone who’s been to a sporting event is familiar with how badly buying just a few drinks can hurt their wallets. With warmer weather comes the return of the PGA Championship, an annual golf tournament held each May –– and the return of astronomical pricing for alcoholic beverages.
Golf Monthly reports that fans arriving at the championship have been greeted with “shock and awe at the price of items at the concession stand.” For example, a 25 ounce can of Michelob Ultra will run fans $18 at Southern Hills, the course the championship takes place on, despite the fact that a three pack of the same beer only costs $8.62 in stores. If Michelob Ultra doesn’t suit their fancy, fans can also purchase Stella Artois or Michelob Organic Seltzer, but for an added cost –– both of these running patrons a whopping $19 a can.
Chief Championships Officer, Kerry Haigh stated “the pricing of the product is sort of comparable to stadium events.” However, when VinePair examined the price of beer at every Major League Baseball stadium in the United States, we discovered that a 20 ounce beer at Citi Field, home to the New York Mets, runs fans $11.75, which is six dollars cheaper than a beer at Southern Hills. So, perhaps he’s correct, the prices do sort of compare to that at other stadium events –– with sort of being the operative term.
Unsurprisingly, fans took to Twitter to express their outrage: user @codymcbridenlu tweeted a picture of the concessions board, expressing clear shock at the pricing and sharing that there is “gonna be a lot of upset folk in Tulsa next week!” The tweet garnered a series of passionate replies, including comments that the pricing is “absolute robbery” and that “the obnoxious greed just hits different.”
Ahhhhh okay @PGAChampionship. Gonna be a lot of upset folk in Tulsa next week! pic.twitter.com/A0gkolSWH4
— codymcbridenlu (@codymcbridenlu) May 15, 2022
Golf pros themselves seem to have had enough of this pricing model as well, and have been joining fans on the social media platform to demand that their fans be treated better. Pro Justin Thomas, who is competing in the PGA Championship, led the charge, tweeting “$18 (!!!!!!) for a beer… uhhhh what. Gotta treat the fans better than that!,” accompanied with a face-palm emoji.
$18(!!!!!!) for a beer… uhhhh what. Gotta treat the fans better than that! 🤦🏽♂️ https://t.co/7DeyC7WTJE
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) May 17, 2022
Despite the outrage on social media, the PGA of America apparently has no intention of lowering concession prices on alcoholic beverages. In the same statement, Haigh said “we’re comfortable with where we are, and we hope spectators will come out and have a great time and a great experience.”
