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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

Hunter Mahan became the 12th first-time winner of the Travelers Championship on Sunday -- and the seventh on the PGA TOUR this year. For most of us, his paycheck for $1.08 million would be the equivalent of winning the lottery, but it is way down the list of importance for Hunter.

Hunter Mahan hits a wedge approach on first playoff hole. Mahan birdied the hole to collect over $1 million. (WireImage)

He is 25 and has already made more money than most of his classmates at Oklahoma State will make between graduation and retirement. It has been argued that the money on TOUR has made some players complacent in recent years.

Any argument to support that position is based on a misguided hypothetical, though. Jay Williamson and Hunter Mahan were not thinking about the check coming down the stretch on Sunday, they were thinking about the trophy -- and no one was playing for second.

While the money has increased over the past decade to a point that offers a certain level of financial comfort to all exempt players, the benefits for winning a PGA TOUR event have remained relatively unchanged over the past three decades.

Hunter reached a professional milestone on Sunday. He won on the PGA TOUR. For that effort, the TOUR and the world of professional golf congratulate him and bestow benefits and riches that extend far beyond the two-year exemption.

Hunter has now earned invitations to the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the Masters next season. He is exempt on the PGA TOUR through the 2009 season. He will always maintain status on the PGA TOUR as a past champion. He will forever be a non-paying member of the TPC Network.

The unofficial financial benefits of winning a golf tournament on the PGA TOUR are significant as well. Equipment companies have bonus structures in place with financial rewards for winning and good play. Most contracts and bonus structures are unique to the individual player. The same is true for player the player-caddie relationship.

The standard player-caddie relationship on TOUR is based on a set salary and percentage. Generally a player will pay a caddie a salary of between $1,000 and $1,500 weekly.

The accepted percentage breakdown is five percent of a finish outside the top 10. A top-10 finish that is not a win will earn the looper seven percent of the booty while 10 percent is standard on a win.

Arrangements vary, however. Some players even give year-end bonuses following successful seasons. One veteran player I know doesn't pay his caddie a salary at all but pays him 10 percent of all prize money.

This is risky for the caddie, but benefits can be enormous. More than 85 players will crack the $1-million mark this year. If this veteran player is among them, his caddie will make far more than he would have under the standard agreement.

Obviously, the caddies for the highest-profile players are compensated for more than their hoofing prowess. They are paid for their silence as well. Not even Barbra Walters could get Stevie, Fluff or Bones to open up about the intimate details of his player's life.

Jay Williamson earned a spot in this week's Buick Open because he finished second in Hartford. The PGA TOUR gives an automatic spot in the field the week after a top-10 finish. (WireImage)

There are many other people who have a financial interest that is peaked when a player earns his first TOUR win. Agents of every shape, size and sense of propriety represent players on the PGA TOUR. Unlike other sports agents, they usually do not receive any percentage of prize money.

They make their livelihood off percentages from endorsement dollars, bonuses and player outings -- sometimes as much as 20 percent. Choosing an agent who can maintain the balance between your interests and his own is essential to a player.

Some players have worked out percentage deals with their instructors as well. These arrangements are based on the mutual vested interest of a player performing well.

With the significant increase in purses over the last decade, the life of a TOUR player has become big business. The business hinges on the on-course success of the player. Agents, wives, financial planners and caddies all bear some of the responsibility of insulating the player from those pressures so that he can focus on the more romantic aspects of his craft.

Some players admittedly are more involved than others in the business aspect of their lives. However, none are singularly motivated by the almighty dollar. Any attempt to describe the passion that is required to play the game at the highest level falls well short.

When Hunter Mahan birdied the first extra hole on Sunday, he realized a dream. While Jay Williamson made $648,000, the largest check of his long professional career, his disappointment was clear.

Don't get me wrong, though. Neither one of them is giving back the check.