Nate Lashley has the receipts and he didn’t waste any time sharing them with everyone.
The PGA pro revealed the PIP payouts from the tour from this past year, which is $100 million distributed to 20 players.
The PGA Tour emailed players the info on Wednesday.
The payouts reward players for boosting engagement and publicity for the tour.
Lashley was not pleased with how the money was distributed.
“How many golf fans actually know what the PIP on the PGA Tour is?” Lashley wrote. “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.”
Rory McIlroy topped the list and earned $15 million, Tiger Woods — who missed most of the season after needing ankle surgery after The Masters — earned $12 million and Jon Rahm got $9 million.
The frustration over the disparity between what the top players earn versus the average ones has become a growing topic in the sport.
The disparity will only grow in 2024 with eight signature events that will have fields between 70 and 80 players, leaving out some of the more marginal players on tour.
Each of those events has a $20 million purse with $4 million of that going to the winner.
The change in format is seemingly in response to LIV Golf as the PGA Tour is trying to keep its biggest stars from defecting to the rebel league for massive paydays.
The PIP payouts are based on a number of factors, according to Golf Digest:
- Internet searches
- General awareness score among the US population
- Social media reach
- Engagement metrics
Lashley, 40, is the 170th-ranked golfer in the world.
The Nebraska native, who has been on the PGA Tour since 2018, has nearly $7 million in career earnings, according to Spotrac.