Could Bryson DeChambeau Become The Golfer Who Moves The Needle

What does it tell you about the state of professional golf that Tiger Woods, who started just five tournaments in 2024 and made the cut in only one, has picked up the Player Impact Program (PIP) award yet again? For the third time in four years!

It has been worth a cool $45m for the 49-year-old 15-time major champion.

The award goes to the player who is judged to have had the greatest impact on the game and uses such diagnostics as social media, Google searches and the like. In other words, it is given to the golfer who most moves the needle. And we remain fascinated by Woods.

Lest you need reminding, Scottie Scheffler won seven times on the PGA Tour in 2024 and also won the gold medal at the Olympic Games. He claimed the FedEx Cup, led the USA to victory in the Presidents Cup and capped it all off by winning the Hero World Challenge. All common sense indicates that he should have been the man to collect this prize.

Xander Schauffele won the US PGA in thrilling style and then destroyed a world-class field to claim The Open.

Bryson DeChambeau won a new army of fans when he went toe to toe with Schauffele at the US PGA and then brought the house down in breaking Rory McIlroy’s heart in the most dramatic of US Opens. But he was ineligible because, of course, he is not a member of the PGA Tour. This alone highlights the absurdity of the whole thing.

And yet a man whose only 72-hole event was in finishing last at The Masters and who missed the cut at the US PGA, US Open and Open Championship is still judged to be the most impactful golfer on the planet.

Scheffler, McIlroy, Schauffele and Jordan Spieth rounded out the top five with Scheffler receiving $8 million and the others each bringing in $4.5 million. Spieth had arguably his worst season since turning professional, failing to make the Tour Championship and nursing a serious wrist injury that required surgery.

So what does all of this tell us? That our sport is in desperate need of two things - a new superstar the public can relate to and a deal between the PGA Tour and the PIF, which funds LIV Golf. 

You may disagree with me but I believe that man could be DeDhambeau. 

Yes, he is a player who still divides opinion but here’s the thing - everybody does have an opinion about him. I was never a fan until I watched him come up short at the US PGA Championship. He interacted with the galleries for 72 holes and thrilled us all. He must have been bitterly disappointed to lose but waited beside the final green to congratulate Schauffele. 

It was a touch of sheer class - something that McIlroy was unable to replicate when DeChambeau played that miraculous bunker shot at the 72nd hole to win the US Open.

I have marvelled at everything that Tiger Woods has achieved in his career but there is clearly something patently wrong with our sport when a 49-year-old who is unlikely ever again to win a golf tournament remains the individual who most moves the needle. It is time for the rest to step up the plate and give more of themselves.

After dishing out $100 million to 20 different players, the PIP prize pool was cut in half in 2024 as only $50 million was split among the top 10 finishers. The PIP formula is based on internet searches, earned media, TV sponsor exposure, general population awareness and golf fan awareness. And, thankfully, this is the last time it will be awarded.