'I Raised $30,000 And I Kept Struggling For Seven Years Just Trying To Break Even' - Veteran Pro On Money In Golf, The Impacts Of NIL/Saudi Cash And Advice For Aspiring Tour Players

Pro golfers at the top of the sport have never had it better, with the influx of Saudi money making LIV stars tens of millions richer.

It forced the PGA Tour to keep up with its $20m Signature Events and huge bonus money, and it has filtered through the entire game.

Scottie Scheffler has passed $130m in official PGA Tour career earnings to overtake Tiger Woods at the summit, and Jon Rahm was 7th in Forbes' highest-paid athletes list at $107m. It's easy to forget about the undercurrent of journeymen pros battling to make a living, and one who knows the financial realities of the sport is veteran Californian, Berry Henson.

The 47-year-old turned professional after graduating from the University of San Diego and raised $30,000 off his own back before eventually finding his way to Asia. He had no big NIL deal or a LIV contract to push him on so instead battled his way up the old-fashioned way, through the mini tours.

Since then, he has won the Philippine Open, qualified for a US Open, had a stint as an Uber driver, advanced through Q-School and competed in well over 200 Asian Tour events.

Henson, who is affectionately known as 'The Hensonator' and is well worth a follow on social media, recently spoke to Golf Monthly on a wide-range of topics, including the subject of finances in golf, his advice for aspiring tour pros and where he sees the Asian Tour following its return to the traditional ecosystem after ending its partnership with LIV Golf.

The American has just one event remaining this season, the Philippine Open - which he won in 2011 - following the cancellation of the big $5m flagship Saudi International because of conflicts in the region. Asian Tour Q-School has also been cancelled due to the situation the circuit finds itself in now that it's LIV-backed International Series events are gone.

The Asian Tour has been forced to pivot after LIV Golf and the Saudi PIF stopped its funding, just four years after a huge $300m investment transformed the tour.

CEO Cho Minn Thant recently told Golf Monthly the after-effects are "devastating" for the circuit, which has once again linked up with the DP World Tour to co-sanction tournaments and create official pathways for its members.

Henson is hoping for a good result in the Philippines and will likely mix both the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour next year with the hope of making it to Europe.

"I think we’re in a position where we’re going to rebuild. I think getting back in the ecosystem is what our members are probably looking for, they have a pathway now," Henson told Golf Monthly on where the Asian Tour currently finds itself.

"And I feel like on any tour having a pathway allows you to develop players and develop your growth. We’ve seen it before when we had the pathway into Europe how it bred the likes of Cam Smith, David Lipsky, Kurt Kitayama, Kiradech [Aphibarnrat] and Anirban [Lahiri].

"So having that pathway back I see it as a positive for the young players. I’m a bit on the older side now so my priorities might be a little different to some of the other guys but obviously I still feel like I have some good golf left and I’d love to have another chance to play on the DP World Tour.

"When LIV came about it was a very interesting time. I feel the Asian Tour benefitted greatly the last five years from that. That partnership was fantastic for the growth of our players, myself included.

"I feel that has put the tour a little bit on the map and shows there is a lot of talent that come and play on the Asian Tour.

"Having Peter Uihlein and having some of these [LIV Golf] guys play on the tour next year will really kind of show the depth that is out in Asia and continues to come up through the young channels - PGTI [India], All Thailand Tour, Malaysian Tour, Taiwan Tour. There’s just so many young players now and they’re just so good."

Henson recently tweeted that young stars earning big money early in their careers, whether that is via NIL deals in college or by being snapped up by LIV Golf, has taken away the "financial headache" of trying to make ends meet while chasing your dream.

He expanded on that topic with Golf Monthly.

"This is the way I understand with NIL and the college system. I’ve seen some guys come through this route," he said.

"I met Ben James when he was a freshman at Virginia when I was trying to qualify for the US Open. I followed him around for 18 holes as I was walking the course and scouting, and this kid was good.

"And he was actually considering going to LIV. He was recruited by a team and I kinda told him ‘Hey man, you only get to play college golf once’ and I say that to a lot of kids. I say ‘Enjoy that time, enjoy growing, maturing, becoming an adult and you’re always going to have time to play professional golf.’

"I think he went through that system great. NIL money is probably great now, I don’t know the numbers but I’ve heard the numbers. And he developed into a guy that’s contending on the PGA Tour already.

"Just the way these kids are developing at such a fast rate, I think you have to give credit to the NCAA and the coaches and just the information they’re getting at such a young age and how quickly they’re getting better.

"When I came out of school, I had no money and I had to raise money, as much as I could. I think I raised $30,000 and I kept struggling for seven years just trying to break even.

"Some of them aren’t having to experience that, and I think that’s kind of a step that I had to go through that a lot of these kids aren’t. And once you get a little bit of money in the bank account I think it makes it a bit easier to free up and play to your highest level."

Having to deal with the financial headache of pursuing a career as a touring professional is certainly something Henson had to deal with when he joined the paid ranks in 2003.

It's clear he is very mentally strong - it came through crystal clear in our 30-minute chat - and had full belief in his dream, which he says is something you simply have to have if you want to make it as a pro.

On how he dealt with the financial 'headache' of getting his career off the ground, he said: "I think it depends on player to player. The question I think maybe young kids get asked, and I get asked, is you know ‘What are you gonna do if golf doesn’t work out?’ I think the strong minded players and I just thought ‘Well it’s going to work out. There’s no second option, I’m gonna make it work out.’

"So I think if you have that strong mindset you have that belief in yourself to do it and you find ways to get the financial headache solved and then you set a really good plan and a schedule to keep climbing up the ladder.

"It took me seven years until I came to Asia and once I came here I was able to start making a living for myself.

"I started on the Canadian Tour and you couldn't make money out there at the time with the currency exchange and the tax. Playing with Peter Tomasulo and John Mallinger, these guys from California that were all better than me, I got better doing that.

"So sometimes you’ve got to go through those knocks to improve and those steps and ladders, and in my era that’s kind of what we had to do.

"Now with the acceleration program these guys are just jumping right on the scene and they’ve got some money in the bank and they can just perform without having that headache.

"And I think that’s a great opportunity for them and it doesn’t seem to slow them down at all. There’s some good young talent out there."

It led us onto his advice for aspiring pros - and he has two things to focus on, one of which came from his fellow SoCal man, Phil Mickelson.

"You just have to fully believe in your ability. You have to have a little bit of cockiness, you have to have a little bit of edge, you have to really believe that you can do it," he explained.

"Phil Mickelson told me once, he’s like ‘If you can be the best in the world at one thing in golf, short game, driving, whatever it may be’ he’s like ‘you’re going to be a really good golfer.’

"Jordan Spieth was the best putter at one time, Rory McIlroy’s the best driver of the golf ball, Scottie Scheffler is the best iron player. If you’re the best in the world at something, you’re gonna be a top 10 player in the world.

"So that’s probably the advice I’d give to a young kid now, never give up and try to really be the best in the world at one aspect of the game, and there’s many different aspects of the game. A lot of the guys now are hitting the gym, and a lot of it is done when you don’t see it."

We then got onto the headache and pain of missing cuts after the time, money and work of a tournament week resulting in $0. Henson has missed 18 cuts in his last 40 starts over the past two seasons, but it doesn't seem to have bothered him in the same way it might have for other pros.

"The last two years I’ve missed more cuts than I usually would. I’ve been pretty consistent most of my career out here," he said.

"It’s not easy, it can be draining. It seems like as we get older, there’s a bit more scar tissue that builds up and things creep in that maybe wouldn’t creep in 10 or 20 years ago.

"But also when I come out the other side we become better players from it, we learn from it and we actually come out the other side better. I struggled to get on a major tour but then once I did I really kind of flowed.

"Just had a couple of hiccups the last two years but I know once I dial things back in and get that momentum going then I’m gonna come out the other side a much stronger and better player than I was a couple of years ago.

"I think you have to have [an amazing attitude]. I’ve always had a never give up attitude.

"No matter what you do, my mom told me as a kid, she’s like ‘If you’re gonna do this that’s great, but gotta eat, drink and sleep it.’

"She’s like ‘If you wanna be the best, you gotta work to be the best and you gotta put in the hard work because that’s the only way you can get there.’

"I was lucky enough to have great parents, I was lucky enough to be around Dr Jay Brunza, who caddied for Tiger in the US Ams and still to this day I speak with him. He’s been a great sports psychologist, mentor for me.

"And I’ve been lucky I’ve had a lot of really good people who have helped me along the way and continue to help me along the way. And just keep never giving up.

"The guys that make it are the ones that never give up, and that’s always stuck in my head through my career. And I’ve gone with the 1% better every day, David Lipsky taught me that. Put in the work and you’ll reap the rewards."