Tiger Woods Tops $15m Player Impact Program

The 46-year-old has won the Player Impact Program for the second year running, with Rory McIlroy settling for runner-up

Tiger Woods at the 2022 Masters
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Tiger Woods has claimed his second successive Player Impact Program award to claim the first prize of $15 million and edge Rory McIlroy into second place.

The 46-year-old has only played in three tournaments so far in 2022. However, rather than performance, the results are based on five metrics ranking players based on how much they have resonated with fans and the media. As well as Google search data and media mentions, the ranking is also determined by Q-score, which tracks the US population’s “general awareness” of the player, MVP Index, which examines a player’s “reach, conversation and engagement metrics" and Neilson Brand Exposure, which considers how much TV time each player had.

Given the huge publicity surrounding Woods’ return to competitive action over a year after he suffered a career-threatening leg injury, it is perhaps not surprising that he has finished on top. Indeed, he finished at the summit of four of the five metrics, only slipping in the Neilson Brand Exposure - unsurprising given his relative lack of action.

For finishing runner-up, McIlroy wins $12 million of the $100m prize pot. Meanwhile, it was reported recently that US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick had finished eighth, which has now been confirmed. His prize is $5m. Other notable names include PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas in fourth, winning $7.5m, and Masters champion and former World No.1 Scottie Scheffler in sixth, earning $5.5m. You can see the full list below.

In total, 23 players have benefitted from this year’s award - the top 20 along with three others - Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Young and Sam Burns - who would have made the list had next year's PIP criteria been in place. They each win $2m. The 2023 PIP began on 1 October and runs until the end of September 2023. 

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Player Impact Program 2022

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PositionPlayerPrize Money
1stTiger Woods$15m
2ndRory McIlroy$12m
3rdJordan Spieth$9m
4thJustin Thomas$7.5m
5thJon Rahm$6m
6thScottie Scheffler$5.5m
7thXander Schauffele$5m
8thMatt Fitzpatrick$5m
9thWill Zalatoris$5m
10thTony Finau$5m
11thCollin Morikawa$3m
12thShane Lowry$3m
13thKevin Kisner$3m
14thMax Homa$3m
15thBilly Horschel$3m
16thRickie Fowler$2m
17thAdam Scott$2m
18thJason Day$2m
19thPatrick Cantlay$2m
20thViktor Hovland$2m
Mike Hall
Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.