Tiger Woods collects £6m after beating out Phil Mickelson to win inaugural Player Impact Program 

Tiger Woods collects £6m after beating Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy to win the PGA Tour’s inaugural Player Impact Program – with £30m shared among top 10 players who generate most interest

• The new concept aims to reward players who ‘positively move the needle’ 
• A combined prize fund of £30million was awarded to the top 10 finishers 
• Tiger Woods has not competed in any official tournament for over a year

By Reuters Reporter

Published: 12:13 EST, 2 March 2022 | Updated: 12:23 EST, 2 March 2022

Tiger Woods has not competed in any official tournament for over a year but he still beat PGA Tour big hitters Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm to win the inaugural Player Impact Program and its £6million first prize, the US based circuit said on Wednesday.

The concept, which awarded a combined £30million 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.

Woods suffered career-threatening leg injuries in a car crash last February 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.

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Tiger Woods has won the inaugural Player Impact Program and claimed its £6million first prize 

A month earlier Woods lit up social media when he posted a video of him swinging a club beside a half-full bucket of balls, along with the caption ‘making progress.’

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 £4.5m as the runner-up.

McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas finished third to sixth, respectively, and each received £2.6m.

Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Rahm, and Bubba Watson rounded out the list and each received £2.25m.

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 U.S. population.

Results were certified by an independent auditor. 

Woods, who has not played in over a year due to injury, beat out the likes of Phil Mickelson