Rory McIlroy wins $15,000,000 but how much will his TGL partner Tiger Woods earn from PGA PIP?

Tiger Woods fell behind Rory McIlroy in the PGA Tour's Players Impact Program (PIP) rankings in 2023. The Northern Irishman took home the $15 million first prize, but Woods didn't leave empty-handed.

Tiger Woods finished second in the PIP rankings for the first time since the inception of the program. His 2023 winnings for the year amount to a very nice $12 million.

PIP awarded its inaugural edition at the end of the 2020-2021 season. Both then and the following season, Woods topped the rankings. His earnings for these awards were $8 million and $15 million, respectively.

In 2021, Tiger Woods overtook Phil Mickelson, while, in 2022, second place went to Rory McIlroy.

The PIP is a PGA Tour initiative that rewards players who have the greatest impact on the PGA Tour, viewed from a business perspective. The ranking attempts to measure the visibility that the players bring to the tour.

To do so, a series of parameters are taken into account, such as Google searches, presence on social networks, presence on television and other similar ones.

The program started with a budget of $40 million to be distributed among the top 10 ranked players. Currently, it has a budget of $100 million to be distributed among the Top 20 in the ranking.

---

A look at Tiger Woods' performance since the inception of PIP

PIP has been controversial since its inception. Its detractors point out that its funds could be used for the development of the sport, instead of rewarding players for non-sporting matters. They also question the fact that the players who receive these awards earn large amounts for their success on the courses.

The example of Tiger Woods is the most frequently used. Woods has earned $35 million for his three PIP awards to date (2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons), yet he has played only six tournaments at that time, with five cuts passed.

His best result of the period is a T45 at The Genesis Invitational in 2023. In addition, he had to withdraw from two events due to ailments.

Other examples that have not gone unnoticed by fans include the fact that in the 2023 ranking, players who are outside the Top 10s, such as Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, outperform those inside, such as Viktor Hovland and Max Homa.

The emergence of PIP coincided with the preparatory work for LIV Golf. At that time, many players who were still playing on the PGA Tour were already receiving offers to move to the new circuit. As is well known, these offers were astronomical in many cases.

It is not surprising that many PIP detractors identify this initiative as an effort to retain the circuit's top players.