Woods wins PGA's inaugural Player Impact Program bonus

Tiger Woods is still the most popular player. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods wins PGA Tour's inaugural Player Impact Program bonus

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated Mar 2, 2022 12:11 PM ET

Tiger Woods hasn't played in a PGA Tour event in nearly a year and a half. He's still getting a handsome payday.

Woods won the tour's first Player Impact Program bonus, which, as ESPN summarized, "measures a player's popularity based on a set of criteria." The take-home prize is a cool $8 million.

It’s been nearly a year and a half since Tiger Woods played in an official PGA Tour event.

Still, he tops the list for the PGA Tour's new Player Impact Program, taking home $8 million pic.twitter.com/Eme0OaTsFj
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 2, 2022

The PGA Tour has announced that Tiger Woods — not Phil Mickelson — has won the new Player Impact Program and its $8M grand prize

The PiP is scored by:
- Google searches
- Meltwater mentions
- Social reach
- Nielsen
- Q-score

Mickelson mistakenly tweeted that he'd won in Dec. pic.twitter.com/moXob6ajRk
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 2, 2022

To absolutely no one's surprise, not all tour pros are in favor of the middle school-esque popularity contest.

"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," FedEx Cup winner Patrick Cantlay said in February. "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."

Patrick Cantlay's thoughts on the PIP feel extra relevant today, when the 2021 Player of the Year doesn't finish in the Top 10.

"Do you think the Tour should be incentivizing it?" pic.twitter.com/x4M9xNY7EF
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) March 2, 2022

Phil Mickelson, who is under massive scrutiny for his connections to the Saudi-backed breakaway golf league, commented back in December that he had won the league's new popularity contest. He came in second on the PIP list.

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