Forty million bucks. American.
That’s what the PGA Tour is proposing with its new influencer program that will reward the golfers who bring the most exposure to the sport and engage the largest fanbase. Called the “Player Impact Program,” the $40-million concept is designed to ward off the Premier Golf League, a concept backed by Saudi Arabia that sought to get some of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars to jump ship.
The cash will be distributed to only the Top 10 players who are selected for their “impact score,” a figure determined by Internet searches, Q score of familiarity, and a brand rating that judges how golfers deliver for the sponsors, as well as the Meltwater Mention (a metric of how often a player is mentioned in various media) and the MVP Index that judges social and digital channel engagement. The player judged most valuable in this instance will get a bonus of $8-million.
Players seem split on whether the new program will make any difference to how they go about their business. “For me personally, it’s not going to change what I do day-in and day-out,” said veteran star Ryan Palmer, who isn’t known as being a flashy player on or off the course. “I’m not going to change what little I do on social media. It’s not in my interest level from a social media standpoint. I just go out and play golf.”
Spanish star Jon Rahm said he might try to get more involved to chase a little bit of the cash.
“I’m somebody who somewhat stays away from social media, but now that knowing that social media, is a big part that counts towards the ranking, I might try to start doing some things to boost the following a little bit,” he said.
What do you think?
In favor
Golf is battling for eyeballs with every sport, and can use all the exposure it can get. If that means the top players are rewarded for promoting their brand and the game, then that will only make golf stronger.
Against
The top golfers often make $10-million on the course (especially the winner of the FedExCup) and don’t really need more money. How many people tune in to golf to see how much the winner makes anyway? Nope, it is all about the competition of seeing the best in the world battle it out.
Ridiculous! The top players make more than enough with the huge prize money already plus their multi-million dollar endorsements. Use the money for philanthropic or development purposes.
I think this will just tilt the playing field toward those who already make the most money.
Media commentary for certain golfers is already skewed.
As a Canadian golf viewer I am always disgusted by the lack of coverage given to Canadian golfers. Unless the Canadian golfer is in the final pairings then you can expect to never see a shot by a Canadian.
It is their performance that draws me to watch TV coverage with the hope that the American broadcasters will garner them fair coverage. Usually it does not happen!
It is Canadian golfers like Brook Henderson and Corey Conners that draw me to the tournament coverage.
Amen Ed. Couldn’t have said it better!
As a Canadian I don’t agree. The coverage is there for the top players. They of course follow the leaders but extra coverage is for players that have had a record of winning.
The broadcasters show what the fans want and that is OK in my book. I personally would be more likely to tune in if a Canadian is in the hunt but this also goes for the fan from AZ or Wales when their is a player from their area.
I have yet to see any PGA professional suffering. Considering all the Covid – related jobs that have been lost (making who knows how many people not knowing which way to turn), wouldn’t it make more sense to direct this money to helping them?
The PGA Tour’s new influencer program is mis-directed in my opinion. The top players on tour already do very well financially. If they want to make golf more sustainable down the road, they should be investing in programs for junior golfers – instruction, affordable equipment, dedicated time on accessible courses, etc. Coming out of our pandemic experience might be the perfect time to promote the physical benefits and relative safety of golf as a sport too.
Honestly, I’m not in favor. A new league will only work if the Majors were not part of the PGA. If players want to bolt for more money to another league, let them. The PGA still has the Majors that have the history and that everyone wants to win. If you want to keep players from changing leagues, change the PGA rules so that players have to play a minimum number of PGA tournaments if they want to play any of the Majors. There are other golf leagues in the world, but everyone still want to play in the PGA, especially for the Majors.
I can understand the rationale behind this initiative. But the downside is that it may reward perennial under performers like Rickie Fowler who have a high social media or commercial space presence. Worse, it may reward guys like Patrick Reed (less likely) and Bryson DeChambeau (very likely) whose attitudes stink (in my opinion). The bottom line is that the top stars know that media presence and accessibility is as much a part of attracting the best commercial and equipment contracts as performance on the golf course. Rickie Fowler has more commercial contracts than PGA titles and Rory McIlroy will always be popular regardless of how many more titles he wins. The PGA does not have to incentivize them for that.
Terrible idea. Just stick with appearance fees if necessary.
A player’s golf skills will speak for them self and attract “eyeballs” accordingly. Encouraging media stunts simply lowers the bar to the level of Professional Wrestling.
Social media hype belongs to faux celebrities.
Instead of making the rich get richer, how about using that money to promote golf to the less fortunate by aiding in equipment purchases, greens fees for certain eligibility cases, and television exposure for those who contribute the most to helping underprivileged kids.
The ladies on the LPGA tour make bubkas compared to the guys on the PGA tour. My thinking is that the PGA tour should be sponsoring the LPGA tour. Brooke made only $225,000 for her win in L.A. on Saturday. Minimum win for the guys these days seems to be around $1.2 million. So to think of padding the pockets of these guys even further is ridiculous.
GREED is ruling the world right now… nothing new!
The richest golfers will get richer. Shame on the ones
who will participate in this! Golf is already a popular sport so no need for this ridiculous scheme!
I personally think the PGA should share the wealth with the LPGA… the difference in money is sickeningly insane!
A very bad idea. It will only reward the players already at the top of the heap.
The excuse the PGA is using that it is to thwart the players leaving and playing for the Saudi’s is just that–a lame excuse.
Look what happened to the Super Soccer league. Collapsed in less than 2 days.
Come on PGA–you can do better than this.
This will only increase the perception that golf is an elitist sport. I couldn’t care less about ombining social media and sport. If anything has been proven, it’s that social media is over rated and abused. To award a player based on how many searches are made of his name is ridiculous.
As for the worry about the Premier League possibly impacting where a player might put his loyalty, I am of the opinion that if the player wants to jump ship based on money alone, then let him/her go. There are lots of other players who will step up and fill the void. My thought though is that golf will remain a game of integrity and money alone won’t be enough to entice players away from the PGA.
If the PGA has so much extra money to throw around, try increasing the LPGA’s purse size. The PGA is always talking about growing the number of women playing golf, and increasing diversity. This would be a good start.
How about taking that money and adding it to the woman’s prize money. Not fair that the women’s purse is so much smaller.
The quality of play and great sportsmanship is what draws fans to a sport. Pro sports already provide an excellent living even to those not regularly in the top ten or grinding it out on the third line. It’s not always just about the money. I find this idea to be offensive.
The rich keep getting richer.How about finding a better use for the money!!
They do not need the money! Why not donate it in the winners’ name.’ The pga tour previously published the purse distribution of each tournament, but probably became embarrassed by the insane amounts picked up each week.
It’s not a good idea. Everything right now is about money.
Most golfers on tour make a good living and the top golfers have more money than they will ever need.
When is enough, enough?
I agree with the concept of making golf more popular and getting people involved but the money should be donated to the charity the league chooses to support or several charities. Work towards helping others not just themselves
Ridiculous ! The PGA could be doing so many other imaginative and constructive things, particularly now that golf is enjoying a resurgence because of COVID.
As if the top 10 PGA players in popularity need more money !