Tiger Woods edges out Rory for second consecutive PIP crown
By Sean McCann
Even after only playing nine events this calendar year, Tiger Woods has won this year’s Player Impact Program for a second consecutive year.
The golfing icon remains heavily in the spotlight, though mostly off the course these days. All while recovering from a lingering leg injury as a result of a single-car accident back in February of last year. While focusing on the blossoming amateur career of his son, Charlie, he has also been vocal on the PGA Tour-LIV Golf saga, however, most notably about the golfers that made the decision to defect.
"“I disagree with it. I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.” – Tiger Woods"
The Player Impact Program (PIP) was implemented by the PGA Tour in 2021 to encourage its players to interact with their fans. The hope was that the program would create key relationships and generate appeal for the PGA Tour.
Winning the PIP award comes with a nice payday. This season’s massive $100 million purse is substantially greater than the $40 million that was on offer last season.
Current World No.1, Rory McIlroy, came second in the voting, even after a historic year where we saw him win three times, including at the season-ending Tour Championship in August.
Despite narrowly missing out on the prize, in typical Rory McIlroy fashion, he was gracious in defeat after losing out to his close friend. “Hey, I gave him a pretty good run,” he said.
The complete PIP standings have yet to be announced but are due to come out in mid-November.
Tiger Woods and Rory will team up for Capital One’s ‘The Match’ next month.
Instead of competing against one another, these two will team up next month on the golf course. Woods and McIlroy will partner together for Capital One’s ‘The Match’ against good friends Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the latest edition of the popular charity competition.
Can’t wait to play in Capital One’s: The Match with @McIlroyRory against @JustinThomas34 and @JordanSpieth to raise money for Hurricane Ian relief. See you boys under the lights on December 10th. pic.twitter.com/IdaVY6HGV8
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) November 7, 2022
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The much-anticipated event will be held on December 10th, on TNT. Capital One’s ‘The Match’ has been a tremendous success in recent years, ever since the first edition when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson took on one another back on November 23rd, 2018.
The ‘Match II’ event that featured Woods and Peyton Manning against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady back in 2020 generated a staggering 6.3 million viewers at its peak, during what was the most-watched golf event in history.