Are you ready to get it? Are you beginning to understand why Tiger Woods has always been the center of so much attention?
Not just at the peak of Tiger’s career but also during his decade-plus reign of dominance, people would complain about the excessive attention paid to the World No. 1.
He was followed by network cameras from his car to the clubhouse, from the clubhouse to the practice tee and, lord willing, through every shot of 18 holes.
Sometimes I found myself explaining to networks why they did certain things. “Tiger Woods lacing up his spikes would draw higher TV ratings than Davis Love shooting a Saturday 62” was one of my favorite examples. NBC, CBS, and other networks make their money by showing viewers what they want.
This week, Tiger was announced as the PGA Tour’s $15 million man. This is Tiger’s payment for winning the Tour’s 2022 Player Influence Program. It’s a media-driven bonus program that is based on how much attention a player gets to the PGA Tour.
This is despite Tiger playing only three tournaments this year and nine rounds in competition.
By the way, Tiger won it also last year while he was still recovering from leg injuries. He entered only one event, a 36 hole exhibition in which he could ride a cart.
Greg Norman and Tiger Woods at the 1999 British Open.
How Greg Norman helped make Tiger Woods richer
Bobby Jones would have had to reconsider his amateur status if this kind of bonus pool was available in his day. Arnold Palmer would have owned the PIP starting in the late-’50s and continuing on to the mid-’70s, when he was not charging on Sundays.
Fair to add, even before Tiger came on the scene, Greg Norman was a man of many talents and sex. He would have made more money off a PIP.
We are here to say that Tiger Woods owes some of the 15 mil to golf’s Great White Shark or to the Saudis who funded Norman’s LIV Golf disruption.
The PGA Tour felt the need to increase benefits to the most famous stars and launched the PIP last season with a $40m tank of money. This was based on a variety metrics that determine player popularity.
For topping the inaugural charts, Tiger was awarded $8 million. With Norman and the Saudis dangling tens to millions of guaranteed “purse money” at golf’s most famous stars, and in addition to protecting its Bermuda grass through other means, the PGA Tour increased the PIP payout to $100 million among the top 20 attention-getters.
This year’s Tour also announced significant increases in purses for several “elevated tournaments”, with a commitment by the top players to compete against one another in at least 12 specific tournaments starting next year.
It is not a coincidence. The Tour could have just prepared for this turf war, and tried to thwart the LIV tour using all its defense options, but without giving up its stars (Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth). It would have less leverage if it ignored the LIV offers.
Why didn’t they go further years ago to catch up with a rival league? Because it didn’t have. The Tour had no deep-pocketed competitor, and even less one with an endless supply of cash.
It was suggested that, a year ago, the ultimate hang-up for LIV defectors would be the world-ranking points. These are key factors in determining who is eligible for the biggest tournaments in golf, especially the four majors.
This is proving to be true, as the battle now includes lawyers on each tee.
It seems that the next step will be questions about the return on investment. Although it is not clear what LIV’s benefactors had in mind when they launched their tour, there was widespread condemnation from the golf community, as well as all the dirty laundry, which could have been the goal.
The final round of Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Course in Nassau saw Tiger Woods, the United States, hitting balls on the range. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images).
“Next on the Tee: Tiger Woods”
Tiger will be playing competitive golf over the next three weeks. He will begin with the Hero World Challenge, a 72-hole, no cut, 20-man tournament in The Bahamas.
The Match, an 18-hole exhibition that takes place every year on Saturday, December 10, is Tiger and Rory vs. Justin Thomas and Spieth. Next weekend, Tiger and Charlie Woods will be competing in the Father-Son Challenge at Orlando.
Everyone will be watching, hoping for signs that Tiger is healing enough to allow them to think about a rise in performance and outings in 2023.
Although the circumstances were different, Arnold Palmer was still the focal point of attention and hope for many years after his 1973 Tour win. He also remained at the top of the annual list for highest-grossing athletes for decades.
Arnie’s lengthy run as the “richest athlete” was unofficial, to be certain, but one Tiger will most likely challenge it and accept it.
Ken Willis, a long-time reporter/columnist for the Daytona Beach News-Journal (part of the USA Today Network), is an author. Reach him at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com.
By: Ken Willis
Title: Tiger Woods has Greg Norman to partially thank for his $15 million PIP check
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/11/28/tiger-woods-greg-norman-pga-tour-15-million-pip/
Published Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2022 15:50:25 +0000
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