Banned by Jay Monahan & Co. 35-Year-Old Pro Reveals Surprising Reality of Making It on the PGA Tour

The trouble for the South Carolina alum, Wesley Bryan, began the moment he decided to participate in LIV Duels – a YouTube match played before the Miami event on LIV Golf. Grant Horvat’s YouTube channel aired the event, which featured six LIV golfers and six YouTube content creators, but the PGA Tour suspended only Wesley Bryan the day after the Duels. That, in turn, also meant Bryan faced a ban from playing at the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship. Although Bryan did say that officials had warned him to stay away from any LIV event, he decided to play at the LIV event to “merge professional and YouTube golf,” considering how significant a role golf has played in his life over the years.

If not for his YouTube channel, you might recognize him as the winner of the RBC Heritage in 2017—a rather unexpected win. Aside from that, Wes and his brother, George Bryan, have been social media stars for over a decade. George Bryan turned professional in 2012 but hasn’t played in a Tour event since 2024. Additionally, he was Wes’s bag during the U.S. Open qualifier. Given their history with golf (and the PGA Tour), they initially pursued the social media path to raise funds to compete on mini tours, hoping to eventually reach the PGA Tour. So, winning the RBC Heritage represented the realization of that dream for Wes.

Talking about the difficulty of making it onto the Tour, Wesley Bryan said on the Field Talk Podcast, “Once you make it to the PGA Tour, you’ve got, those pro-ams that you can get paid a lot of money, or a few thousand dollars at least, to cover expenses to play in. Um, there’s also a lot of club manufacturers, and clothing and brand deals, and all the logos that you see that for sure cover expenses. Um, so once you make it to the PGA Tour, you don’t have a lot of guys, at least that year, struggling financially.

“But on all the other tours, you do. And where George and I were at when we started our trick shot stuff was mini tours. And a lot of people don’t realize for us to go play in those tournaments, it costs a thousand or two thousand dollars just to enter into the tournament. And then you have to pay your expenses on top of that. And if you don’t finish fifth or sixth or better out of a hundred people, then you lose a lot of money for the week. And so that’s what we were doing at the time.”

During tournament weeks, players can expect to spend money on hotels, flights, food, caddies, and tips. However, they also receive perks from sponsors, including high-quality clubs, equipment, apparel, and cars to enhance their performance and appearance. In September 2023, PGA Tour player Ben Griffin shared his weekly expenses on TikTok, revealing that he budgets approximately $500-$1,500 for flights, $1,200-$1,500 for hotels, $500 for food, a significant $2,000 (plus a percentage of earnings) for his caddie, and an additional $500 for other costs like fuel and tips. But what if they miss the cut?

First of all, professional golfers on the PGA Tour do not receive payment simply for attending a tournament. Instead, they earn money by competing and finishing in positions that qualify them for a share of the prize pool. The PGA Tour does not offer financial support to players who miss the cut, so they must rely on their own earnings, sponsorships, or other income sources to manage their finances. In response to whether players receive payment regardless of their performance, the answer is generally no for most professional golf tours, including the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.

That is why the Bryan brothers’ journey is so inspiring. Their YouTube channel, “Bryan Bros Golf,” which primarily showcases trick shot videos, has over 550,00 followers. However, of course, his golf career has seen many ups and downs over the years. Wesley Bryan turned pro in 2012. In 2016, Bryan had a standout year, securing three wins on the Web.com Tour, which earned him a place on the PGA Tour. However, out of 134 starts in his career, he has only made 68 cuts. In 2024, he made eight cuts in 18 starts. In 2025, Bryan, who no longer has a Tour status, made three starts, successfully reaching the weekend just once.

Considering their popularity on YouTube and the aim to grow golf, the brothers have built their brand name by participating in the PGA Tour’s Creator Classic. The LIV Duels participation was something similar–with the way they got to play with golfers like Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia. As a result, Wesley Bryan announced in April that he would appeal the Tour ban. Whatever the result may be, Wesley Bryan’s struggle to earn his way to professional golf isn’t unique.

Scott Gregory once shared the difficulty of playing professionally

Englishman Gregory made a significant impact in the golf world by defeating Robert MacIntyre to win the 2016 Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl. However, the promising start to his career, which suggested a future filled with substantial earnings, did not come to fruition for the 29-year-old. Following that notable victory, Gregory showed glimpses of his potential, including leading the Open after the first round. Unfortunately, his rookie season on the DP World Tour did not go as he had hoped, as he managed to make only one cut.

As a result, Gregory became acutely aware of the difficulties in making a living from golf when one’s form declines. In 2020, he discussed the realities of being a professional golfer on the Golf Monthly podcast, emphasizing that life as a professional golfer is far from glamorous, filled with first-class flights and life-changing prize money.

Talking about it in 2020, he said, “It’s a lot of money [paying for everything, flights, hotels, caddies]. I would say on average last year for me, doing it kind of as cheap as I could do it, you were doing well if you spent less than £1,600 a week to play.” Scott Gregory hasn’t played in a DP World Tournament since the 2024 Desert Springs Resort.