ROSS’S RULES When Your Popularity Matters More Than Your Golf Game

The PGA Tour devised the Player Impact Program (PIP) to reward players who “generate the most positive interest in the PGA Tour.” In an age where media recognition translates into sports dollars, the PIP program is the gift that can keep giving, even if a player experiences a competitive slump. Or barely tees it up. Just ask Tiger Woods.

Recently, the Tour announced the results of the second year of the PIP. To no one’s surprise, Woods took home the top prize of $15 million, although he played (and did not contend) in only three events. In contrast, Scottie Scheffler, who won four times (including the Masters) and is the hands down favorite for Player of the Year honors, finished 7th on the PIP list and pocketed a mere $5.5 million. (To be eligible, the player must be a member of the Tour in good standing and have played at least five events in one of the past five seasons.)

But who would dispute that Woods continues to have a transformative impact on the game of golf, even as injuries have limited his ability to compete in recent years? When Woods does show up, ticket sales and television ratings surge. Like Arnold Palmer in the late 1950s, Woods’ advent on the Tour in the late 1990s propelled golf to new heights of popularity and vastly increased payouts for everyone. Max Homa probably echoed the sentiments of many players:

“Tiger won [the PIP] again, so as long as he’s winning, it’s not broken.”

The Tour doubled the total PIP payout to $100 million in 2022 for the top 20 finishers. Rory McIlroy received $12 million for second place. Rounding out the Top 10: Jordan Spieth ($9 million); Justin Thomas ($7.5 million); Jon Rahm ($6 million); Scottie Scheffler ($5.5 million); Xander Schauffele ($5 million); Matt Fitzpatrick ($5 million); Will Zalatoris ($5 million); and Tony Finau ($5 million). The lowest payment was $2 million.

How are the PIP standings determined? Not by an informal vote of Commissioner Jay Monahan and his trusted lieutenants over beers after a round of golf at Sawgrass. For

By Jack Ross

2022, money was awarded according to a five-factor formula based on objective, third-party data:

• Internet searches (how often a player’s name is searched on Google)

• Earned media (how many unique news articles contain a player’s name)

• Television exposure (cumulative TV exposure on Saturdays and Sundays)

• General awareness of players among the U.S. population (the “Q-Score”)

• Social media impact (score based on a player’s “reach, conversation and engagement”)

Although the PIP program might well have been in the works prior to 2021, it’s hard to imagine that the implementation of the program in 2021 -- and the vastly increased payout in 2022 -- was not influenced by the advent of LIV Golf and the Saudi bankrolling of mega guaranteed payments to lure players with significant media clout (e.g., Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson) away from the Tour.

While the Tour publicly takes the position that the depth of competition in its established events is sufficient to prevent mass defections, surely funneling an additional $100 million to its top celebrities buys a little loyalty.

Philosophically, the PIP program runs counter to the Tour’s policy against paying appearance fees for participation in tournaments. (Bubba Watson recently suggested that the rule prohibiting appearance fees is not ironclad, but that’s another story.) While common in other parts of the golf world, appearance fees are officially taboo on the Tour, which has always viewed itself as a merit-based enterprise. The best players win the top dollars. In contrast, Homa described the PIP as “a popularity contest mixed with a little bit of golf.” Patrick Cantlay was more critical: “I think the money should be doled out according to play.”

The Tour has attempted to tie the PIP to participation in its newly designated premium events; 13 events this season will feature substantially elevated purses of $15-25 million. To be eligible for a PIP payout, a player may skip no more than one of these events. But Monahan recently conceded that Woods will not lose any PIP money regardless of how much he plays, so the rules here seem fluid.

The Tour has tweaked the PIP formula for 2023. The social media factor has been diluted. Perhaps this will lead to less colorful player Twitter traffic. Some players are confused by the formula. “I’m not smart enough to figure it out,” commented Rahm. “If you play good golf, it usually takes care of itself.” Unless you’re Tiger Woods, when NOT playing golf takes care of itself.

Jack Ross, who resides in Holden, MA, has been a columnist for Northeast Golf for more than a decade with a focus on the rules of golf, the USGA, and regional golf topics.