The ten winners of the Player Impact Program 2024 have known the news since last November. The PGA Tour contacted them internally to inform them of the good news. The winner receives 10 million dollars and the last four ranked receive 3.5. It is true that this year ‘only’ 50 million have been distributed, half of the previous three seasons, but it is still a good amount. Two months after that private communication, the list of winners has not been officially made public. It had to be an American media outlet that brought it to light, specifically the Sports Business Journal. The PGA Tour must have its reasons for not airing this information, but anyone might think they are not very proud of the results.
According to SBJ, the winner of the PIP 2024 was Tiger Woods. He pockets ten million dollars after playing four and a half tournaments all year. He finished ahead of Scottie Scheffler, who at least ended up in second place. The next eight golfers in this ranking are: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, and Wyndham Clark.
If we stick to the rules that govern this bonus, no one should be surprised that Tiger Woods appears in the first position. After all, there is no golfer on earth with more media impact than the 15-time Major winner. It doesn’t matter if he plays or not. When he does, he garners great attention, and when he doesn’t, he presents his new clothing brand, Sun Day Red, which took place last year, or leads negotiations with the PIF of Yasir Al Rumayyan.
No one will argue that Tiger beats everyone by a landslide in terms of impact, but something is wrong with a 50 million (thank goodness it’s not 100) dollar bonus if it is awarded solely for these merits. Moreover, the first thing that fails is precisely the sporting meritocracy that the PGA Tour tries to promote. It’s hard to take it seriously or, at the very least, it’s a major inconsistency.
The good thing, however, is that the PIP is disappearing. This is the fourth and final year it is awarded. So much peace it takes, as rest it leaves. In three of the previous four years, Tiger Woods won it. This bonus, very controversial from the start, has been replaced by another called PEP, Player Equality Program. It will distribute 100 million dollars annually until 2030. As explained to the players, this grant will be distributed among “about 20 players based on their performance over the last three years, performance in the last season, as well as the measurement criteria used in the Player Impact Program.” Here, at least on paper, it does seem that sporting meritocracy is more prevalent.
This is how the PIP ranking stands:
| 1 | Tiger Woods | $10M |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Scottie Scheffler | $8M |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy | $4.5M |
| 4 | Xander Schauffele | $4.5M |
| 5 | Jordan Spieth | $4.5M |
| 6 | Collin Morikawa | $4.5M |
| 7 | Shane Lowry | $3.5M |
| 8 | Justin Thomas | $3.5M |
| 9 | Tommy Fleetwood | $3.5M |
| 10 | Wyndham Clark | $3.5M |
The PIP criteria are based on: internet searches, media appearances, TV exposure with rights, general public awareness, and golf fan awareness. Things that are hardly measurable in a more or less scientific way and that would always inevitably lead to Tiger Woods. It’s understandable that some cynics might have concluded that this PIP was created solely to give Tiger Woods a juicy cheque at the end of the year.
