2024 Bing Golf Pool Rules
Welcome to the 2024 Bing Golf Pool. As everyone should know by now, The Bing Golf Pool or BGP is all about golf and fun and maybe you win a few dollars. I will always strive to be as fair as possible both to the individual and the field. Ultimately, every decision I make will be based on “protecting the field” and “What is in the best interests of the BGP?”
Fees
The entry fee for the 2024 BGP will be $160. I anticipate the entry fee staying at $160 for several years but I may change my mind.
Making Picks
You pick 1 golfer for each of the BGP tournaments
It is the participant's responsibility to make sure the selected golfer is in fact playing in the tournament. The BGP will provide a list of players who had indicated they were playing in the tournament. However, this is not official and it is up to the participant to do their due diligence to make sure the player is entered and playing in the tournament. Sometimes players are entered and then drop out at the last minute.
You can NEVER pick the same golfer twice. If you do, the 2nd time you pick that golfer will be recorded as a “No Pick”. The website provides a list of every golfer you have previously selected. It is up to the participant to make sure a golfer is not selected twice.
You earn whatever your golfer earns for that tournament. So, if you pick Tiger and he finishes 3rd and he earned $750K, you earn $750K. If you pick Tiger and he misses the cut, you earn $0. If you fail to make a pick or make a duplicate pick, you earn $0
All picks must be made BEFORE your golfer tees off. If you make a pick at 10:00 EST and your golfer teed off at 9:45 EST, you will not get credit for that pick. The burden falls on the participant to get their pick in early. Nothing is stopping the participant from putting in a pick on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday – there is no need to wait until the last minute when your schedule may get busy and then you are late or forget to make a pick
You can always switch your pick as long as the original golfer you picked and the new golfer you picked have not teed off. So lets say I pick Tiger and later find out that Tiger dropped out. As long as there are still golfers who have not teed off you can make a selection.
All picks are made through the “Picks” page on the website. You will find your name, enter your email, enter your Passcode and then make your pick. Once your pick is made you will receive a confirmation email confirming your pick. The burden is on the participant to make sure your pick was entered successfully. If you do not receive the confirmation, you should enter your pick again. If you still do not receive a confirmation, you should email me your pick and let me know you tried entering it on the website. This way I will have a record of your pick and we can determine if there is an issue on the site. The bottom line is you are responsible for making sure your pick was successfully entered either through a confirmation email you receive or an email to me.
There will be situations that seem unfair to the individual participant but are just a part of the Pool. You forgot to make a pick and did it at the last second and the pick did not go through but you were so busy you never noticed that you didn't receive a confirmation email. I do believe you when you said you picked Tiger. But the rule is clear and you will receive a “No Pick”.
The rules are set up to remove subjectivity and place the burden on each of you. Why? Most of the people in the pool are my friends or friends of my friends. I do not want to be in a position of having to make decisions that may piss off one of my friends. So I have tried to create rules that are clear and without ambiguity.
When a “”first impression” rules situation comes up I will review all of the information, consult with a few members of the Executive Committee and render the best decision I can. And every decision will be based on the criteria of what is in the best interest of the BGP.
Pool #1 – The Bing Golf Pool
The pool that decides the BGP champion. There will be 26 tournaments for the 2024 BGP. These tournaments are listed on the “Tournaments” page. The person who accumulates the most earnings over the course of the 26 tournaments will be declared the winner of the BGP. 8 places will be paid out for the BGP.
Pool #2 - The Majors Pool
The person who accumulates the most earnings in the 4 golf majors. 4 places will be paid out in The Majors Pool.
The tournaments are:
The Masters
The PGA Championship
The US Open
The Open Championship
Pool #3 – The Tiger Pool
The person who accumulates the most earnings in the first 6 tournaments on the BGP calendar. 4 places will be paid out in The Tiger Pool.
The tournaments are:
The Sentry
American Express
Farmers Insurance Open
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
WM Phoenix Open
Genesis Invitational
Pool #4 – The Arnie Pool
The person who accumulates the most earnings in tournaments 7-12 on the BGP calendar (Not including The Masters). 4 places will be paid out in The Arnie Pool.
The tournaments are:
Arnold Palmer Invitational
Players Championship
Valero Texas Open
RBC Heritage
CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pool #5 – The Jack Pool
The person who accumulates the most earnings in tournaments 13-20 on the BGP calendar (Not including the PGA Championship and US Open). 4 places will be paid out in The Jack Pool.
The tournaments are:
Wells Fargo Championship
Charles Schwab Challenge
RBC Canadian Open
The Memorial
Travelers Championship
Rocket Mortgage Classic
Pool #6 – The Bobby Jones Pool
The person who accumulates the most earnings in the final 5 tournaments on the BGP calendar (Not including the Open Championship.). 4 places will be paid out in The Bobby Jones Pool.
The tournaments are:
Genesis Scottish Open
Wyndham Championship
FedEx St. Jude Championship
BMW Championship
Tour Championship
The TOUR Championship Earnings
Refer to the “Tour Championship Earnings” page of the website for information on the payouts for the TOUR Championship
Pool Earnings
These payouts are based on 100 pool participants - these numbers will change if we have more or less people - final payouts will be posted by the end of January. All payouts will be paid after the conclusion of the TOUR Championship.
The Bing Golf Pool
1st = $1600
2nd = $800
3rd = $600
4th = $450
5th = $340
6th = $250
7th = $200
8th = $160
The Majors Pool
1st = $800
2nd = $500
3rd = $320
4th = $200
The Tiger Pool
1st = $800
2nd = $500
3rd = $320
4th = $200
The Arnie Pool
1st = $800
2nd = $500
3rd = $320
4th = $200
The Jack Pool
1st = $800
2nd = $500
3rd = $320
4th = $200
The Bobby Jones Pool
1st = $800
2nd = $500
3rd = $320
4th = $200
Brian Harman - 2023 British Open Champion
