Tiger Woods Earns $8M Prize as PGA Tour's Inaugural Player Impact Program Leader

Tiger Woods hasn't appeared in a PGA Tour event since November 2020, but he was the biggest beneficiary of the Tour's new Player Impact Program (PIP).

Woods earned $8 million from the PIP, eclipsing Phil Mickelson ($6 million) for the highest share of the $40 million prize pool.

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Player Impact Program Payouts

1. Tiger Woods ($8 million) 
2. Phil Mickelson ($6 million) 
3. Rory McIlroy ($3.5 million) 
4. Jordan Spieth ($3.5 million) 
5. Bryson DeChambeau ($3.5 million) 
6. Justin Thomas ($3.5 million) 
7. Dustin Johnson ($3 million) 
8. Brooks Koepka ($3 million) 
9. Jon Rahm ($3 million) 
10. Bubba Watson ($3 million)

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The results might be news to Mickelson, who said in December he was the "winner" of the PIP:

With the threat of a breakaway league backed by Saudi Arabia looming, the PGA Tour crafted the Player Impact Program as a way to distribute more money to golf's biggest names. 

Rather than a golfer's performance, the PIP is based on five metrics to gauge popularity: internet searches, earned media, social media, TV sponsor exposure and awareness.

The results of the inaugural PIP payouts are bound to raise questions about the formula and the efficacy of the entire project. Kevin Na and Collin Morikawa made their feelings clear on social media:

Patrick Cantlay, who had four wins and seven top-10 finishes in 24 PGA Tour events in 2021, voiced his opposition in February.

"I think I'm old-school in the respect that I would like the money to be doled out relative to play and I don't think the PIP does that," he told reporters. "It may be the first departure that the tour has had from rewarding good play to rewarding social media or popularity presence, so I don't like that departure."

It's not as if the PIP was necessary to reinforce that Woods is the most popular golfer in the world regardless of how much or how little he plays. That will remain the case for the foreseeable future.

And with Woods, it's often the case that a rising tide lifts all boats. The attention he draws benefits the entire sport.

But if the PGA Tour saw the Player Impact Program as a way to placate stars, then it may have to go back to the drawing board.