Playing Will Become a Bigger Part of the Player Impact Program
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The Player Impact Program (PIP) won by Tiger Woods in 2021 has gone from a $40 million bonus pool to $100 million this year—a $50 million payout has already been passed by—with 20 or so players enjoying the benefits, up from 10.
The program has undergone several tweaks, including the removal of the Q-rating and social media components—although players in 2022 are being judged on both systems, hence the possibility of more than 20 players sharing in the bonus program.
Five of the top 10 in 2021—Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Bubba Watson—have moved on to LIV Golf, but the new program was put in place to try and help thwart such defections while rewarding players for participating in the Tour’s biggest events.
Going forward, to be eligible for the PIP, a player is expected to play in 20 tournaments—12 elevated events, the four majors, the Players and three other tournaments of his choosing. The PGA Tour policy board recently decided to allow for one opt-out among the elevated events.
But here’s a catch that has not been as widely reported: Players who are awarded PIP bonus money will not receive it all at once. In order to receive all of their bonus, they will need to compete in all of the elevated tournaments (minus a pass) for which they are eligible in 2023. The breakdown has yet to be revealed.
To use Woods as an example, it’s difficult to envision him fulfilling all of the terms. While Woods won’t be eligible for the Sentry Tournament of Champions or the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, he is eligible for all of the majors, the Players Championship, his own Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial. There’s then the additional three-tournament requirement.
Even skipping one would seem to be difficult at this point for Woods. It is unclear how much of the bonus is tied to playing these events, and if there is some sort of prorated amount based on number of events missed.
Then again, in Woods’ case, nobody would be upset if they gave it all to him anyway. The entire point of this program is to reward players for value beyond their golf scores.