PGA Tour bonus for stars to avert defection
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Tiger Woods is likely to be among the top 10 most valuable players this year.
NEW YORK • The PGA Tour has created a US$40 million (S$53.2 million) bonus pool for its 10 most popular stars in an effort to stave off the potential for defections to a rival golf league, Golfweek magazine reported on Tuesday.
Called the player impact programme (PIP), its design is to "recognise and reward players who positively move the needle" on fan and sponsor engagement, a Tour spokesman told Golfweek.
The US$40 million will be distributed among 10 players at the end of the year, with the most valuable getting US$8 million.
The programme began on Jan 1 and there are six criteria the players will be judged on to determine the distributions. According to Golfweek, they are:
• Ranking on the season-ending FedExCup points list.
• Popularity in Google search.
• Nielsen Brand Exposure rating, which places a value on the exposure a player delivers to sponsors through the minutes they are featured on broadcasts.
• Q Rating, which measures the familiarity and appeal of a player's brand.
• MVP Index rating, which calibrates the value of the engagement a player drives across social and digital channels.
• Meltwater Mentions, or the frequency with which a player generates coverage across a range of media platforms.
The results of each will be converted into Impact Scores, according to the report, that will create the standings and the dollars distribution.
The PIP is seen as a response to the Premier Golf League, a Saudi Arabia-backed venture that has made attempts to attract the Tour's top players by promising big sums just to show up.
In its communication to players, the top men's circuit did a simulation of the 2019 season and rendered a top-10 list. Fifteen-time Major champion Tiger Woods came out on top, followed by Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose and Adam Scott rounded out the list.
Despite being sidelined indefinitely after a horrific car accident in February, Woods could conceivably still make the top 10 - or even finish No. 1 - this year given his star power and global appeal.
"Tiger should be No. 1 on that list no matter what," Koepka told Golfweek. "He's the entire reason we're able to play for so much money, the entire reason this sport is as popular as it is, and the reason most of us are playing."
REUTERS
