This year's Player Impact Program (PIP) results have been released by the PGA Tour, with Rory McIlroy usurping Tiger Woods to take home the $15million first prize.
In their own words, the PIP "is designed to reward members who - through objective measurement criteria - are shown to generate the most positive interest in the PGA Tour."
In essence, the scheme is there to reward the biggest names in the game for being just that - the biggest names. Those who are most known, who fans tune in to watch and whose names are found most regularly on social media and news headlines.
It's also worth noting that as it's funded by the PGA Tour, only players on that Tour are eligible, meaning LIV players do not qualify for this year's bonus.
PIP Winners 2023
Introduced in the 2020-21 season, the PIP has not been without its critics, though. PGA Tour pro Nate Lashley brandished it as "an absolute kick in the face to the rest of the PGA Tour players, while DP World Tour player Eddie Pepperell suggested pro golf had "lost its mind" when the latest figures were released.
Much of the criticism comes down to the eye-watering sums handed out but also the fact that the standings are not determined by on-course performance.
And while the latter notion is only somewhat true - Brian Harman's maiden Major triumph at the Open Championship and subsequent qualification for the Ryder Cup will have played a big part in his 20th-place finish, for example - it is true that off-course metrics largely dictate the results.
So how is the PIP decided?
Well, there are five sections to any golfer's PIP score: Nielsen Brand Exposure, Google Search Data, Media Mentions, MARC General Population Awareness and MARC Golf Fan Awareness. Let's unpack them all.
Nielsen Brand Exposure - This figure calculates the duration (time) that a player’s sponsor logo(s) appeared on screen during Saturday and Sunday PGA TOUR telecasts. If you've performed well and been in the hunt on the weekend throughout the year or at big tournaments, you'll score well on this.
Google Search Data - This measures the number of times a player’s name is specifically searched using Google.
Media mentions - Similarly to the category above, this tracks the number of unique news articles that include a player’s name.
MARC General Population Awareness - This score is calculated through surveys with the general public to gauge how well a player is known to a non-golf audience.
MARC Golf Fan Awareness - In a similar vein, this score surveys people who watch golf regularly to see how widely recognised a given player is.
Through these metrics, it's easy to see why someone like Tiger Woods, who hasn't teed it up in competition since April, can rank so high up the rankings. But there are also opportunities for lesser-known players to be rewarded if they have a good year on Tour and feature regularly in news pieces and on broadcast.
