PGA Tour Player Impact Program Creates a Pool to Reward Top Stars in Golf
The most humorous and best parts of golf are usually hidden from the public. One event that comes to mind is Ken Duke’s 3rd round played without fans during the Players Championship five years ago. There is the whole 2019 Presidents Cup in the U.S, which ended in the middle of the night.
That hardly ever matches up with mainstream or prime-time viewership. That is why news of an annual $40 million fund to reward ten golfers participating in the PGA Tour (achieved almost four months ago without anyone’s knowledge) came to light recently. This is incredible and suitable for the sport. The timing is fortunate. With the slow disappearance of the coronavirus pandemic and talks of Premier Golf League coming up once again, the Tour made the right decision to break the news this week.
Known as the Player Impact Program, the top 10 famous players will have to split $40 million in a year. The program is based on popularity but not performed because there is no money guarantee to players. The Tour itself will be the only beneficiary. The Premier Golf League also promises more financial stability for top golfers, so this was the right move. The report’s details will leave you in doubt. The program evaluates golfers by social indexes and Q ratings. Here are my thoughts on the program.
- Tiger Wood Deserves All $40 Million
If the Player Impact Program aims to honor golf players who have created wealth for the league en masse, then Tiger Woods’ name should dominate the top 10 slots for the first five years. That’s like a $200 million starting point, which is still little.
- This Was the Best Move
On Tuesday, I concurred with No Laying Up that this is an easy thing to mock. Whenever you involve SEO scientists with a sport that was initially asserted on whether the sheep will trim the field, mockery will dominate. I also agreed with them that this is a positive step for the PGA Tour and should have happened several years back. The Tour’s direction has been forced in different ways over the past few years. This was a cheap and justifiable outcome.
- It Will Also Be Messy
Whenever a language like “adjusts the engagement value of a player spreads across digital and social platforms, and the rate with which a specific player gets coverage on various media platforms” is used in the distribution of money in any organization, there will be some system manipulation. It is unlikely that this direction will affect the program’s intent, but there will be some amazing moments in the coming years.
- A Reply to ESL, not PGL
This week was filled with chatter about the PGL (Premier Golf League) and how it was seen as a method to send away fading members. This could be true, but its timing could indicate that it is more related to what is happening in football’s European Super League gap.
If you have no idea about it, top European clubs tried to break away and form a 20-team league (European Super League), which did not go well with players, fans, and top football associations.
To simplify it, the breakaway clubs certainly exaggerated their ability instead of utilizing their current position for extra resources in their current domestic leagues and FIFA and UEFA. The news about Player Impact Program was the Tour’s way to convince top players to leave and create their own golf super league.
There are several similarities here, but most top golfers are smart. They will monitor how the tour responded and the recent happenings in the European Super League for Arsenal, AC Milan, Manchester United, and other European clubs.
- A Meritocracy Is A Great Option
Most golf fans believe that the sport is an ideal form of meritocracy. This program’s implementation is an admission. While it may contain more meritocracy principles than other top leagues, it is still a free-market sector affirmed on six or eight people. The Player Impact Program is a true reflection of that reality.
The only challenge here may be comprehension. Assume golfers are like clubs or franchises in other sports. What if a top NBA franchise was guaranteed $0 in revenue by the league every year? It works similarly for Rory Mcllroy, which is somewhat insane. If you take the respective franchise or player out of their leagues despite their current performance, the league’s revenue will go down with time.
The Tour has been (maybe unintentionally) exploiting their ‘Franchises’ as individuals who have no idea that they are revenue-generating bodies. The power in golf rests with professional golfers but not with the PGA Tour. The PGL highlighted this, and now there is a $40 million fund to prove it.
- It is How Business Operates
Reactions like this from former and current players like Mark Calcavecchia have been evident Calc’s proposals are good in the real world. Who doesn’t want to run several developmental tours or youth programs with loads of money? The business world in a country dominated by capitalism is not any close to ideal. The whole structure is highly centered toward the top, which is quite unfair. The bitter reality that many would dispute keeps the entire system running.
- The Top 10 Remains Top 10
The lazy joke is about how Rickie Fowler will make more money than the top 25 players worldwide every year, yet he is not ranked among the top 100. Fowler is among players who matter when it comes to actual revenue. A player who attracts masses to watch the game, that’s why the Tour signs million-dollar deals with sponsors and TV networks.
Essential personnel is a term that was used a lot last year. It meant hundreds of individuals who participated in propping and hosting the PGA Tour. The term may be valid in a general sense but false when explicitly applied. There will always be substitutes, especially at the top. The harsh reality in professional golf brought to light by the Player Impact Program is that important personnel are essentially ten golfers who generate or make all the money.
