Ian Mallon: Is PGA Tour finally ready to recognise Rory McIlroy's value?
IN THE coming weeks, the US PGA Tour should, no must, present Rory McIlroy with a $15m cheque - cut from the richest prize fund in golf – following a year of duplicity and double cross.
The $100m Player Impact Programme stands alone as the most valuable purse in all of golf, ahead of the $75m FedEx Cup prize total.
Now in its third year, previous winners of the $15m top prize for the most influential golfer were Tiger Woods and... Tiger Woods.
Such persistent lauding of the 15-time major winner has prompted cynicism that the PIP is little more than ‘the annual Tiger Woods benevolent fund’.
The PGA Tour told The Pitch it still hasn’t settled on a “a set date for announcing this, but will do so sometime most likely in November or early December”, and added “the criteria remains the same, with 20 players dividing $100 million depending on where they slot”.
Whether the outcome remains the same we’ll soon see, particularly in a year when Rory McIlroy’s value to the PGA, particularly as an ambassador and spokesman for the Tour, was denigrated by an abrupt and secretive deal with LIV Golf by Jay Monahan last June.
Whatever the shadiness about the process employed by the PGA Tour Commissioner in reaching agreement with the Saudis, the deal left McIlroy isolated and humiliated within the Tour and from his position on the Board of that organisation.
The question now, is whether the Tour is ready to finally acknowledge its highest profile non-US asset?
Five different metrics are used to assess the value of a player, and its influence to the PGA Tour brand, including this year additional surveys on player recognition from two US demographics.
The PGA Tour’s Data and Technology Solutions team, led by Mike Vitti, will determine scores based on the following:
1. Nielsen Brand Exposure – Television Coverage of that Player
2. Google Search Data – how much a player is sought on internet search engines
3. Meltwater Media Mentions - how much press coverage a player gets across media news brands.
4. MVP Index – Social Media Score, based on a player’s appearance across the key social channels.
5. Q Score – (general) awareness survey of the public, or how recognisable a player is amongst golf audiences.
In its 2022 assessment, Tiger ranked highest in internet searches, media mentions and awareness, as well as social media impressions and engagements.
Rory was third in Google searches, second in media coverage, second in awareness and 11th in social media, despite winning the FedEx Cup and three tournaments throughout the season - allowing McIlroy to beat Woods in the live broadcast assessment.
Rory’s dust-up with US caddies in the carpark at the Marco Simone Ryder Cup in September will surely elevate him to the top of the social media charts, but it is likely an American who will chart ahead of him in broadcast terms.
Despite McIlroy’s success in winning the Tour’s championship last year, it was Scottie Scheffler who received the most TV attention overall, helped by winning the US Masters, the most popular golfing staple on US television.
This year’s four majors were won by three Americans, Wyndham Clark (US Open), Brooks Koepka (US PGA) and Brian Harman (The Open) – with Spain’s Jon Rahm winning the Masters.
Only one of those has mass appeal, thanks largely to Koepka’s appearance on the Netflix Full Swing docuseries, but even the PGA Tour couldn’t countenance giving its prestigious player impact prize to a LIV player.
Whatever about the social and other media tractions that any player gets, the rules seem stacked in favour of Tiger, particularly under the Q Score element of the assessment.
Q Score is a survey based analysis, where a player’s recognition by a golfing audience is the key identifier.
This year, however, another value has been added to Q Score and that is if a player is recognised by a wider and more general US non-golfing specific audience.
No matter how popular Rory is in the US, he does not have that instantly and universally recognised image that endures for Tiger with the American public, guaranteeing another criteria win for Woods.
Tiger’s impact on the Tour for a given season, when he hardly plays, does allow you to question the relevance of some of the headings under which PIP selects its winner, even if there can be no argument with the integrity of the data.
If, when the final results are back in the coming weeks, Tiger is still valued as the most influential and impactful star in golf for 2023, then there is very little McIlroy can do about it.
What the PGA Tour should have done, however, is fix a more relevant system of interrogation and one that accurately reflects the ‘here and now’, and not historic, albeit incredible, achievement.
More weight should certainly be put on a player’s presence within tournaments throughout the season, peak time broadcasts and related media mentions – including all press conference coverage before, during and around events.
Asking Joe Bloggs from Arkansas if he recognises Tiger Woods on a screen or sheet of paper is hardly a measurement worthy of a live assessment on how a player impacts the PGA Tour in a given year.
But then, you might get to thinking, that Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour like it that way, and just like 2022 don’t be surprised to see another Woods win, and another Rory second place finish.
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Ten months after Roy Barrett announced he was leaving the Football Association of Ireland, the organisation has begun the search for the Chairman’s replacement.
Barrett declared his departure last January, marking what has been a generally positive period for the former stockbroker, having helped stabilise an organisation desperately in need of firm leadership.
Barrett will be a hard act to replace, but it is an opportunity nonetheless for a commercially-minded former CEO with a track record of attracting big business and brands.
While the search has been uniquely low-key, an FAI spokeswoman told The Pitch that it “is currently in the process of recruiting a new Chair of the Board”.
“It is anticipated that a new Chair will be appointed by the end of the year."
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IF YOU’RE going to launch an initiative – particularly one which represents one of the most deserving causes in sport, then do it well.
That’s what Golf Ireland achieved this week with the announcement of its partnership with ISPS Handa, to grow participation in Ireland for golfers with a disability.
The Japanese foundation, will sponsor the ISPS Handa Irish Open for Golfers with a Disability in 2024 and brought along one of its leading global ambassadors, Dan Carter.
While much of the attention was focused on Carter’s views on all things All Blacks and the weekend’s World Cup final v South Africa, The Pitch paid keen attention to what the deal means for the sport, one that will see Irish and international golfers playing at Elm Hall next year.
Significantly, ISPS Handa will become the lead partner of Golf Ireland’s Golf4All programmes covering a range of initiatives and programmes to encourage people with disabilities to try golf and develop their skills.
Mark Kennelly, CEO of Golf Ireland commented: “We are very excited to announce this partnership with ISPS Handa.” “In our strategic plan, Golf Ireland committed to grow participation levels for golfers with a disability and this support from ISPS Handa will help us encourage more people with disabilities to try golf.”
