‘Criminal In This Day And Age’ - Pepperell On Matsuyama $2m Bonus

The Englishman has had his say on the PIP money handed to Hideki Matsuyama despite finishing outside the top 20

Eddie Pepperell takes a shot during the 2022 DP World Tour Championship at the Earth Course in Dubai
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mike Hall
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The results of the 2022 Player Impact Program have been revealed, with Tiger Woods edging out Rory McIlroy for the $15m first prize in a list of 20 players rewarded for their impact on fans and the media. 

However, three other players, including Hideki Matsuyama, were also awarded a financial bonus as they would have made the list under the criteria for the 2023 award. That news led to the popular golf Twitter account Flushing It suggesting the Japanese player deserved more for turning down the chance to sign LIV Golf, writing: “Hideki only getting 2 mill after turning down a reported 400 from LIV is criminal.”

However, one player who thinks the bonus money given to Matsuyama is unwarranted is Eddie Pepperell. The 31-year-old replied, saying: “Criminal in this day and age. In normal times, a $2m bonus for doing nothing extra would be considered a bit mad. But golf has entered a strange place.”

The PIP has been controversial since the outset. Indeed, eyebrows were raised after the 2021 award, when Woods won despite not playing during the period. However, while there are still question marks over the merits of awarding bonus money to some of the highest-paid players on the PGA Tour, the addition of the three extra players is likely to baffle many.

The 2023 award will replace two criteria - how it measures general awareness of a player in the US population and social media rankings – with surveys to determine a player’s popularity among the general population and fans. As well as Matsuyama, Cameron Young and Sam Burns would also have been in this year’s top 20 were those criteria in place, meaning they also receive a $2m bonus.

Matsuyama was heavily linked with a big-money move to LIV Golf in the summer, but so far, he has remained loyal to the PGA Tour. As for Pepperell, he has previously made fun of the vast sums of money that have entered the game following the introduction of LIV Golf. In August, he posted a video on Twitter where he stars as a player appearing to haggle over a big-money contract.

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Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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