In light of this week’s sports news that several European football clubs are opting to form a Super League, information leaked via Golf Week on Tuesday about the PGA Tour’s efforts to stop its star golfers from breaking away for bigger pay days elsewhere. The PGA Tour later confirmed to ESPN that it had created a $ 40 million pool to reward its top stars while disappearing the long-rumored Premier Golf League.
The premise of the proposed PGL is that it will guarantee significant money to the leading players in the world. In a deeply meritocratic sport like golf, where only 5-10 players actually bring in TV ratings and wide sections of fans, there is a huge appeal to ensure a significant salary if you are one of the biggest names in the game .
Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy earn exactly $ 0 each season. In the proposed PGL this would not be the case. Although the details of the hypothetical league are weak, the point is that everyone will essentially ensure some degree of prosperity, regardless of the success on the track.
This is where the PGA Tour’s player impact program comes into play. According to Golfweek, ten players will receive money from a $ 40 million pool. The PGA Tour has confirmed to Golfweek that the program, set up to compensate players who allegedly want a fan for fans and sponsors, such as compensation from Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler.
Since the criteria for determining who will receive portions of the $ 40 million are not just tournament-based, it will be difficult to determine the exact formula that the PGA Tour will use. The algorithm used to rank the players presumably includes popularity in Google Search, Nielsen Brand Exposure ratings (how often they are on TV during tournaments), Q ratings (how well known to the general public), MVP index ratings (social media engagement) and Meltwater Mentions (how often it is covered by the media).
It was initially reported that FedEx Cup points would be set off in the formula, but the PGA Tournament later confirmed to GolfWeek that this would not be the case.
If this sounds like a scam or a joke, it’s not. And in some ways it would have to be expected. Of course, the PGA Tour wants to guarantee its top players more money to prevent them from jumping into a new league. There is a logic in the movement that makes sense.
However, it can get confusing. Will Tiger Woods get a bonus because people googled his name based on a car accident instead of playing golf, even if he did not step on a course for 12 months or ever again? In the case of Tiger, he should actually be paid given how much money he has brought into the sport over the past 20 years, but the same cannot be said of everyone.
There is (and will be) plenty to relax here, but the PGA Tour clearly sees this as a stabilization of its primary infrastructure in the light of what has happened on the European football front and what would be in store for the next few months. be with the PGL. This is a gamble of $ 40 million, which could be a lot for the PGA Tour and the players who make the money.