PGA Tour Commish Finchem: $5.3 million salary in 2008

It's hardly news that professional golf is big business. A recent report in the Sports Business Journal certainly reaffirmed that fact when it was announced that Tim Finchem, commissioner of the PGA Tour, earned $5.3 million during 2008.

Finchem's base salary is about $1.3 million, and the rest of his income is derived from performance bonuses. According to ESPN, 2008 was on par with his 2006 performance but a jump up from a $4.7 million year in 2007.

We'll see what 2009 looks like as the TOUR struggled to encourage the premier players to participate in more events while many major sponsors (i.e. Buick) jumped ship due to the economic downturn.