American professional golfer, Tiger Woods has beaten PGA Tour big hitters Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm to win the inaugural Player Impact Program and its US$8 million (RM33.6 million) first prize.
This feat is coming despite the fact that Woods has not competed in any official tournament for over a year.
It is important to note that the concept, which awarded a combined US$40 million to the top 10 finishers, was implemented in 2021 as a way to reward players who positively “move the needle” and generate the most positive interest in the PGA Tour.
Recall that Woods suffered career-threatening leg injuries in a car crash in February, 2021 and spent a sizeable portion of the year out of the spotlight before competing with his 12-year-old son in an unofficial 36-hole tournament last December.
According to the US-based circuit, Mickelson, who became golf’s oldest major champion at last year’s PGA Championship and is currently taking a break from the sport amid fallout from comments he made about the Saudi-funded golf league, collected US$6 million as the runner-up.
It could be recalled that in a tweet last December, Mickelson claimed that he won the PGA Tour’s US$8 million. Woods, after being declared as the winner in the latest announcement, took a shot at Mickelson on Twitter as he posted a copy of the six-time major champion’s original post along with the caption “whoops”.
McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas finished third to sixth, respectively, and each received US$3.5 million.
Others are Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Rahm, and Bubba Watson who rounded out the list and each received US$3 million.
It was clarified that an individual’s impact score was determined through five metrics: popularity in internet searches; unique news articles that include a player’s name; a player’s reach on social media; Nielsen Brand Exposure rating and their general awareness among broad US population.
It was stated that results were certified by an independent auditor.
In its announcement, the PGA Tour said the bonus pool for the 2022 Player Impact Program will increase to US$50 million total.
