Woods Ranks No.1 in Player Impact Despite Only 3 Appearances... $15 Million Bonus

PGA and PIP Prize Money Expanded to $100 Million with 20 Winners
2nd Place McIlroy and 3rd Place Jordan Spieth

Tiger Woods. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seohee] Tiger Woods (USA), who played only three PGA Tour games this season due to injury aftereffects, proved his enduring influence by ranking first for the second consecutive year in the PGA Tour Player Impact Program (PIP).

On the 22nd (local time), the American sports cable network ESPN reported that Tiger Woods secured first place in the 2022 PGA Tour PIP and will receive a $15 million bonus. This marks Woods' second consecutive year topping the PIP rankings.

The PIP is an award given to the player who generates the most positive attention for the PGA Tour. It was established last year as the launch of LIV Golf increased the need for promotional effects and individual player compensation within the PGA Tour.

Since suffering a car accident last February, Woods has hardly participated in any tournaments, yet he once again topped the PIP this year, demonstrating his sustained influence. Woods competed in three major tournaments this season, including the Masters Tournament, but only completed nine rounds due to leg pain and withdrew from some events. He has not played since missing the cut at The Open in July.

In response to LIV Golf's challenge, the PGA significantly expanded the number of PIP awardees from 10 to 20 this year. The total prize money also doubled from $50 million to $100 million. However, this year, three additional winners were selected according to criteria that will be applied starting next year, bringing the total number of PIP recipients to 23.

The PIP final rankings are determined by combining indicators such as ▲Google internet search volume ▲number of articles mentioning the player's name ▲weekend TV sponsor exposure ▲public recognition ▲social media awareness. Prize money is distributed differentially according to rank from 1st to 10th place, with tiered prizes for 11th to 15th and 16th to 20th places.

Rory McIlroy. Photo by Yonhap News.

Following Woods, Rory McIlroy (UK) ranked second and will receive $12 million, followed by Jordan Spieth (USA, $9 million), Justin Thomas (USA, $7.5 million), Jon Rahm (Spain, $6 million), Scott Scheffler (USA, $5.5 million), and Xander Schauffele (USA, $5 million) among the top 10 awardees.

Ranked 11th to 15th are Collin Morikawa, Kevin Kisner, Max Homa, Billy Horschel (all USA), and Shane Lowry (Ireland), each receiving $3 million. The 16th to 20th places include Rickie Fowler (USA), Adam Scott (USA), Jason Day (Australia), Patrick Cantlay (USA), and Viktor Hovland (Norway), each awarded $2 million.

Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Cameron Young (USA), and Sam Burns (USA) narrowly missed this year's awards but were selected as additional recipients under the criteria to be applied from next year. They will receive the same $2 million as the 16th to 20th place players.

Meanwhile, starting next year, the PGA will subdivide two PIP criteria?▲public recognition and ▲social media awareness?into 'general public' and 'golf fans.' To this end, the PGA will conduct awareness surveys on a randomly selected sample of the adult population in the United States, allowing respondents to self-identify as either general public or golf fans during the process.