The PGA Tour has created a lucrative bonus structure that will reward golf’s biggest stars regardless of how they perform on the course, Golfweek has learned. The new system is designed to compensate players who are judged to drive fan and sponsor engagement, like Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler.
Known as the Player Impact Program, the concept is seen as a direct response to Premier Golf League, a proposed splinter tour funded by the Saudi Arabian regime that has tried to lure golf’s biggest names with the promise of a massive guaranteed pay day. PGL has spent years trying to gain traction but seems no closer to signing a sufficient number of elite players to be viable. The stuttering PGL effort nevertheless forced the PGA Tour to devise a means to reward stars for the value they add to the overall product rather than solely for their on-course performance.
A PGA Tour spokesperson confirmed to Golfweek that the Player Impact Program began January 1 to “recognize and reward players who positively move the needle.” At the end of the year, a pool of $40 million will be distributed among 10 players, with the player deemed most valuable receiving $8 million.
The 10 beneficiaries will be determined based on their “Impact Score,” a number generated from six separate metrics that are designed to quantify that individual’s added value. According to a document the PGA Tour distributed to players, the contents of which were shared with Golfweek, the metrics on which players will be ranked against their peers include:
(1) Their position on the season-ending FedEx Cup points list.
(2) Their popularity in Google Search.
(3) Their Nielsen Brand Exposure rating, which places a value on the exposure a player delivers to sponsors though the minutes they are featured on broadcasts.
(4) Their Q Rating, which measures the familiarity and appeal of a player’s brand.
(5) Their MVP Index rating, which calibrates the value of the engagement a player drives across social and digital channels.
(6) Their Meltwater Mentions, or the frequency with which a player generates coverage across a range of media platforms.
The Tour will employ an algorithm to turn the values from each metric into Impact Scores for every player and a ranking of those Scores then determines the bonus amount due. The FedEx Cup rank is the only measurement explicitly determined by performance on the golf course, but the others can be directly impacted by strong play.
Apr 14, 2019; Augusta, GA, USA; Tiger Woods celebrates after making a putt on the 18th green to win The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
The names of those players most likely to benefit from the new program are unsurprising. The document circulated to players by the Tour included simulated Impact Scores using 2019 figures to illustrate how the ranking will work. Predictably, the player with the best score—the man judged to have added most value to the Tour’s product—was Tiger Woods, who won the Masters that year. Woods was followed by FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy, with Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler rounding out the top five.
Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose and Adam Scott completed the top 10.
The 2021 ranking of player Impact Scores—the list that will actually determine bonus payments at year’s end—will likely look very different to that simulated version. Bryson DeChambeau, arguably the most talked-about player on Tour this year, finished 12th in the ’19 simulation, one spot behind Tony Finau. While Woods is recovering from a car crash, Koepka is nursing an injury and both Mickelson and Fowler are slumping, it’s assumed all would still earn bonuses since they continue to drive significant engagement with the Tour’s product.
“Tiger should be No. 1 on that list no matter what,” Koepka told Golfweek when asked about the new bonus plan. “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. Not even close.”
While the lucrative Player Impact Program will be popular with its beneficiaries, its reception is more mixed among journeymen who are unlikely to ever reap its riches. “There I was thinking they were compensated enough,” said one veteran Tour winner. “We earn our money through performance. Using metrics will definitely cause complications at some point. What if you’re a really awesome player but don’t move the needle in those metrics?”
Another player with multiple Tour wins, who asked not to be identified, told Golfweek: “Most players feel it is a shoo-in money grab for only those at the top, and it’s extremely hard to break into that category if you’re not already in it. For example, the same people are always on TV, including the same names always on PGA Tour Live, which the Tour chooses who gets on that. Also, the top, top guys are invariably the ones with the most social media followers, and that results in more money from this plan. The overriding thought is why not do something to help all of the players? The FedEx Cup already takes care of the top.”
A PGA Tour spokesperson said that as part of the program the Tour is providing extra resources to help all players manage their social media and branding, including charitable foundations, and to maximize their off-the-course business opportunities.
It’s believed the formula used to calculate Impact Scores will distinguish between positive and negative coverage a player generates. One metric being used—the MVP Index—is generated by a company founded by Jordan Spieth’s father, Shawn Spieth.
“It’s a substantial source of revenue,” one player agent said of the proposed bonuses, adding that the amounts involved are equivalent to another one or two sponsorship deals annually for some stars. “It’s a smart way to reward stars and it’s no time commitment from the players.”