A beer at the PGA Championship is $18 and even Justin Thomas is pissed about it
- Beer at the PGA Championship is looking quite expensive.
- Concession prices posted on Twitter show $18 for a Michelob Ultra, $19 for a Stella Artois, and $19 for "signature souvenir cocktails."
The total purse for this week's PGA Championship is $12 million, with the golfer who claims the top prize taking home an impressive $2.16 million.
Minus whatever they pay for beer.
Heading into the week, a photo of egregious-looking concession prices at the upcoming PGA Championship at Southern Hills made the rounds on Twitter, promoting dealings including an $18 Michelob Ultra, a $19 Stella Artois, $13 glasses of wine, and $19 cocktails.
Compared to the family-friendly prices of concessions at Augusta National, some fans saw this as an outrage.
That outrage was even shared by some of the players, with World No. 9 Justin Thomas tweeting his own frustration at the prices.
Thomas followed up on his tweets while speaking with the media on Tuesday.
"I just saw it, and I was blown away," Thomas said. "It was just a bummer. You want people to want to come to the tournament. If I'm on the fence and I'm looking at the concession stand, that's not the greatest thing."
"I was just blown away because I've never seen a beer $18 or $19 in my life. Guys have been talking about it. I [felt I should] stand up for the fans. Felt it was right."
While the prices baffled Thomas and many fans, Brooks Koepka offered a different perspective, standing up for his sponsor Michelob Ultra in the process.
Asked if he had seen the beer prices, Koepka turned on the charm.
"Yeah. Michelob Ultra is 18 bucks, but it's a tall boy, so you're good," Koepka said.
Indeed, the expensive beers will be coming in 25 oz. cans, so there is a good amount of bang to match your buck. As Koepka explained, from a per-ounce perspective, the price is much more palatable.
"It's bigger than — what do they serve normals? 16 ounces? 12 ounces? It's bigger than the normal ones, so you'll be alright," Koepka said. "You drink enough, you'll be fine."
The contro-beer-sy made its way all the way up to the upper echelons of the host organization, with PGA of America chief championships officer Kerry Haigh saying that the prices were "sort of comparable to stadium events," according to ESPN.
Haigh also explained that while beer prices are expensive, fans in attendance will be able to get food and non-alcoholic drinks for free with their price of admission during tournament days, which should undoubtedly help assure some of the spending woes of those heading to the event.
Still, for those who were looking to have a few beers at the PGA Championship this week, know that they won't come cheap, even if dinner is free.