Tiger Back In Action And Still Moving The Needle

If you were still wondering about the impact that Tiger Woods has on the game then the past week should have been a good reminder.

Supposedly, according to Rory McIlroy, the 15-time major winner has won the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program (PIP) for the second consecutive year despite only playing nine rounds in 2022.

In among those rounds he somehow made the cut at Augusta as well as the PGA Championship, where he withdrew after the third round, and missed the cut at St Andrews. He didn't play the US Open at Brookline.

He will now finish the year with a flurry of action, teeing it up in his Hero World Challenge, the PNC Challenge with his son Charlie and The Match VII with McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

The PIP measures a player's popularity based on media mentions and broadcast exposure and somehow Woods has topped the lot.

“Hey, I gave him a pretty good run,” said McIlroy, who told the Associated Press that he had finished second on the list.

This is the second year of the PIP and the 2021 winner wasn't awarded until March. But this year the PGA Tour moved the deadline to September 30 and it will be expanded to the top 20 players with $100mi in total payouts, up from $40m last year.

To be eligible for the bonus those players must play at least 20 events next year, including 11 of 12 of the new elevated tournaments from the beginning of January.

An official announcement is expected to be made in the middle of November.

As for his return to action next month he tweeted: “I am excited to announce that I will be in the field for this year’s HeroWorldChallenge,” wrote Woods on Twitter on Wednesday. “A big welcome to @K-Kisner and @TommyFleetwood1 for joining us as well. See you soon at Albany!”