Tiger Woods once again finished atop the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program (PIP), thus winning the top prize of $10 million. It’s the third time he has won over the past four years.
Tiger Woods is still the needle, wins PGA Tour’s PIP program and $10 million
Tiger Woods barely played in 2024, yet he won $10 million for finishing atop the Player Impact Program (PIP).
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal first reported the news, indicating that the tour informed players of the results in late November.
Woods, of course, played in only six events throughout the 2024 calendar year, five of which came between February and July. He withdrew from the Genesis Invitational, citing an illness. Woods made the cut two months later at Augusta National but faltered over the weekend to finish 60th. He then missed the cut at the three subsequent majors, had back surgery in September, and then played in the PNC Championship in December alongside son Charlie.
This past year, Woods also promoted his new TGL league, which launches on Tuesday on ESPN.
Commissioner Jay Monahan instituted the PIP during the 2020-21 season, which helped identify the most popular players on the PGA Tour. Those who garnered the most interest through internet searches, TV sponsor exposure, and general awareness receive increased points in the PIP formula and, thus, additional paydays at the end of the season.
Yet, this iteration of the PIP marks the final year of the program. Carpenter notes that the PIP will be replaced by the Player Equity Program (PEP), which began this past week at The Sentry in Maui. The PEP stems from the substantial investment the PGA Tour received from the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) in February.
What’s remarkable — and perhaps a worrisome sign for the PGA Tour — is that Scottie Scheffler did not win this program. Scheffler won nine times overall, seven of them being official PGA Tour events. He also picked up his second Green Jacket in three years at Augusta. Even then, Scheffler finished second to Woods, taking home $8 million, while McIlroy, who won this program in 2023, received $4.5 million for finishing third.
The top-10 finishers in the PIP, along with their paydays, follow below:
2024 PGA Tour PIP Rankings:
1. Tiger Woods — $10 million
2. Scottie Scheffler — $8 million
3. Rory McIlroy — $4.5 million
4. Xander Schauffele — $4.5 million
5. Jordan Spieth — $4.5 million
6. Collin Morikawa — $4.5 million
7. Shane Lowry — $3.5 million
8. Justin Thomas — $3.5 million
9. Tommy Fleetwood — $3.5 million
10. Wyndham Clark — $3.5 million
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
