Tiger Woods is set to collect a staggering $12million (£9.5m) bonus from the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program (PIP), despite having only played in just two events during the 2022-23 season.
The 15-time major winner was pipped to the top spot by Rory McIlroy, who claimed the top prize of $15m (£11.9m), just a week after he clinched his fifth Race to Dubai Title.
The PIP is designed to reward golfers who bring the biggest positive impact to the sport, by boosting publicity and engagement and offering a prize pot of $100m (£79.8m) to the most influential players on tour.
Woods, meanwhile, has only played in two PGA Tour events this season, the Masters and the Genesis Invitational – a tournament in which he was the host, having now claimed a whopping $35m ($27m) from the PIP, claiming first place in 2021 and again in 2022.
The 47-year-old has played a total of eight events in his last three seasons on the PGA Tour, with a series of injuries preventing him from competing on a regular basis, but last week confirmed that he would make his long-awaited return to the tour at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on November 30.
Meanwhile, Jon Rahm, who has been making headlines this week after more rumours circulated linking him with a move to LIV Golf, claimed third place in the PIP rankings, with the 2023 Masters champion and World No 3 collecting $7.5m (£5.9m).
While Rahm has previously dismissed claims that he could join LIV, the discussion over whether he could join the breakaway league has sparked some controversy online, with journalist Alan Shipnuck claiming that Phil Mickelson had said Rahm would defect to the rival golf league.
Now heading into it’s third season, LIV Golf promises big cheques to it’s stars, with $255m (£203m) worth of prize funds being dished out during it’s debut year, which includes $30m (£23.9m) in bonuses, according to National Club Golfer.
This season, Taylor Gooch won the Saudi-backed golf league, claiming a total prize of $39.5m (£31.5m). Comparatively, Viktor Hovland won $18m (£14m) after he won the FedEx Cup earlier this year.
The Norwegian finished seventh in this year’s PIP standings, claiming another $5m (£3.9m), bringing his overall season earnings up to $26.6m (£21.2m).
He finished behind Jordan Spieth ($7.5m), Scottie Scheffler ($6m) and Rickie Fowler ($5.5m) in the table, with Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa completing the top ten PIP earners, each netting $5m (£3.9).
The PIP, which was introduced in 2021, was notably conceived not long before LIV Golf’s inception, with the Saudi-backed breakaway league offering big cash prizes and player appearance fees which are not permitted on the PGA Tour.
Although, the announcement of the PIP standings has sparked some fury among other PGA Tour players, not included in the bonus rankings.
American Nate Lashley, who has won just once during his career on the professional tour, wrote on Instagram: ‘There’s 150-200 members of the PGA Tour and they just spent $100 million on 20 players. Seems a little ridiculous.
‘Time for new leadership on the PGA Tour. This is an absolute kick in the face to the rest of the PGA Tour players.’
Xander Schauffele, Jason Day, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa and Matt Fitzpatrick all picked up $3m (£2.3m) each, finishing just outside the top ten.
Meanwhile, US Open Champion Wyndham Clark, Justin Rose, Patrick Cantlay and Brian Harman make up the top 20, netting $2m (£1.5m) each.
