Although Rory McIlroy‘s strive to win his 5th major continues, he has successfully dethroned golf GOAT, Tiger Woods, by winning the Player Impact Program. Besides, he also bagged a bonus of $15 million out of a purse of $100 million, distributed to the top 20 players. These results were made public on Wednesday in a memo sent by Jason Gore, chief player officer of the PGA Tour.
The PIP was first introduced in 2020–21 to generate interest in the tour and for its publicity. Woods won the PIP in its last two editions, but this year he managed to finish in second place despite barely playing on the field owing to his injuries. The 2023 Masters winner, Jon Rahm, comes in in third place, grabbing a total of $9 million. Then the list is followed by other renowned golfers who have had outstanding performances throughout the season. Let’s take a look at the list!
2023 Player Impact Program Standings and Bonuses
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | $15 million |
| 2 | Tiger Woods | $12 million |
| 3 | Jon Rahm | $9 million |
| 4 | Jordan Spieth | $7.5 million |
| 5 | Scottie Scheffler | $6 million |
| 6 | Rickie Fowler | $5.5 million |
| 7 | Viktor Hovland | $5 million |
| 8 | Justin Thomas | $5 million |
| 9 | Tommy Fleetwood | $5 million |
| 10 | Max Homa | $5 million |
| 11 | Xander Schauffele | $3 million |
| 12 | Jason Day | $3 million |
| 13 | Tony Finau | $3 million |
| 14 | Collin Morikawa | $3 million |
| 15 | Matt Fitzpatrick | $3 million |
| 16 | Wyndham Clark | $2 million |
| 17 | Cameron Young | $2 million |
| 18 | Justin Rose | $2 million |
| 19 | Patrick Cantlay | $2 million |
| 20 | Brian Harman | $2 million |
But the decision has not been well received by tour veteran Nate Lashley, who reposted the payout chart and wrote,
“How many golf fans actually know what the PIP on the PGA Tour is? Would love to hear from golf/PGA fans if they think this $100 million was spent well? There’s 150-200 members of the PGA Tour and they just spent $100 million on 20 players. Seems a little ridiculous. Time for new leadership on the PGA Tour. This is an absolute kick in the face to the rest of the PGA Tour players.”
His voice confirms his resistance to this PIP and how this inequity impacts other golfers on the tour.
Following next year, this $100 million bonus money will be reduced to $50 million, which will be distributed to only the top 10 golfers, as per tour announcements from March. Although Rory McIlroy announced his resignation as Player Director from the PGA Tour Policy Board on November 14, the tour has yet again awarded the spokesperson for being an impactful figure on the tour this season.
The selection criteria for the PIP bonus cover a few parameters. Let’s find out what they encompass.
PGA Tour golfers go through layers of eligibility scanning
The tour takes note of the internet searches with the entity’s name, including the news articles that feature those golfers. These are followed by the time period of the golfer’s sponsorship logos that is broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays. Other metrics include how trending a golfer is, with sufficient public reach and crowd engagement on social media. The 2023 list also included general population and fan awareness criteria in addition to Meltwater, Nielsen, and Google Search metrics.
To be eligible for the complete PIP bonus, golfers must fulfil three additional requirements:
1) The individual must play in a PIP-designed tournament; 2) be present at a PIP event service (that is mutually convenient); and 3) participate in the PGA Tour Tournament Regulations Handbook. Even with all these hassles, the player wouldn’t get the entire money at once, but in divided installments. First, a share of 75 percent is paid with the Sentry, and the remaining 25 percent gets rewarded as the individual fulfils these criteria.
With the dropping of bonuses and so many eligibility criteria, the struggle would be more next year in order to stand out on the PIP list.
