Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods were the top beneficiaries from the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Programme, but one of their fellow players is not impressed with the £78 million payout
The PGA Tour’s £80 million ($100m) Player Impact Programme has been slammed by one of its playing members after 20 of the circuit’s most popular names received a share of the mega-money bonus.
The biggest beneficiary was Rory McIlroy, after the Northern Irishman earned a cool £12 million ($15m) for topping the list for the very first time. He replaced 2021 and 2022 leader Tiger Woods, who was forced to settle for second this year and a £9.6 million ($12m) payout.
The goal of the program, which was introduced two years ago, is to reward players who increase awareness of and interest in the PGA Tour during the course of the campaign.
Ten players shared the £40 million ($50 million) prize pool at first, but as part of numerous Tour adjustments last year, both the amount and the number of winners were doubled. However, not everyone agrees, including Nate Lashley, a player on the Tour.
Lashley demanded a shift in circuit leadership on Instagram, attacking the Tour’s program policy. “How many golf fans actually know what the PIP on the PGA Tour is?” he wrote on Instagram. Would be interested in knowing if golfers or PGA fans believe that the $100 million was well-spent.
The PGA Tour has between 150 and 200 members, and they recently spent $100 million on 20 players. It seems a little absurd. It’s time for the PGA Tour to have new leaders. The other players on the PGA Tour are getting a serious kick in the face from this.” Not just Lashley was a frustrated pro.
Eddie Pepperell, the star of the DP World Tour, voiced his opinion about the payout, echoing his American counterpart. The career of professional golfers is headed nowhere. Lost its mind, and I no longer love or respect it,” the Englishman wrote on X, a platform that was formerly Twitter.
Pablo Larrazabal, a fellow DP World Tour player, then echoed Pepperell’s remarks by pointing out the disparity in earnings between the PGA Tour and the Wentworth-based circuit. He tweeted, “Three times as much money as they pay to the @DPWorldTour annually, the @PGATOUR donates $100 million to the Players Impact Program (PIP).”
The Spanish player continued by urging Jordan Spieth, the newly appointed Player Director of the PGA Tour, to implement some adjustments for the benefit of European golf. He continued, “Well, I hope that @JordanSpieth (new PGA players board chairman) makes the @DPWorldTour great again.”
Presently, the two tours are a part of a “strategic alliance,” which was reinforced in 2022 in response to LIV Golf’s growing threat. The top 10 performers from 2023 on the DP World Tour received Tour cards for 2024 as part of their agreement. World No. 46 Adrian Meronk and European Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre were two of the beneficiaries.
Leave a Reply