PGA Tour star launches furious rant as Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods handed huge bonuses

The two golfers who benefited most from the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program were Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, but one of their teammates is not thrilled with the £78 million award.

One of the PGA Tour’s active members criticized the £80 million ($100 million) Player Impact Program after 20 of the most well-known players on the circuit shared in the enormous cash bonus.

The biggest beneficiary was Rory McIlroy, after the Northern Irishman earned a cool £12 million ($15m) for topping the list for the very first time. He replaced 2021 and 2022 leader Tiger Woods, who was forced to settle for second this year and a £9.6 million ($12m) payout.

The programme was implemented two years ago, and was put in place to reward players who boost publicity and draw interest into the PGA Tour throughout the campaign.

Initially, the prize pool stood at £40 million ($50m) and was distributed across 10 players, but the figure and the amount of recipients was then doubled as part of a whole host of Tour changes last year. Not everybody is on board though, including Tour player Nate Lashley.

Lashley took to Instagram to criticise the Tour’s programme policy, and called for a change in circuit leadership. He wrote on Instagram: “How many golf fans actually know what the PIP on the PGA Tour is? Would love to hear from golf/PGA fans if they think this $100 million was spent well?

“There’s 150-200 members of the PGA Tour and they just spent $100 million on 20 players. Seems a little ridiculous. Time for new leadership on the PGA Tour. This is an absolute kick in the face to the rest of the PGA Tour players.” Lashley was not the only frustrated pro.

Eddie Pepperell, the star of the DP World Tour, voiced his opinion about the payout, echoing his American counterpart. The career of professional golfers is headed nowhere. I no longer respect or love it, and it’s gone insane,” the Englishman wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Pepperell comments were then echoed by fellow DP World Tour star Pablo Larrazabal, who highlighted the difference in payments between the PGA Tour and the Wentworth-based circuit. “The @PGATOUR gives away 100 Million to the Players Impact Program (PIP), 3 times more than the money that they pay to the @DPWorldTour for all year,” he tweeted.

The Spanish player continued by urging Jordan Spieth, the newly appointed Player Director of the PGA Tour, to implement some adjustments for the benefit of European golf. He continued, “Well, I hope that @JordanSpieth (new PGA players board chairman) makes the @DPWorldTour great again.”

Presently, the two tours are a part of a “strategic alliance,” which was reinforced in 2022 in response to LIV Golf’s growing threat. The top 10 performers from 2023 on the DP World Tour received Tour cards for 2024 as part of their agreement. World No. 46 Adrian Meronk and European Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre were two of the beneficiaries.