Ian Mallon: Chasing the Tiger – Will Rory ever be PGA's biggest brand?

His FedEx Cup win (doing the same in Europe by winning the DP World’s Race to Dubai), 10 Top 10 finishes at 16 PGA Tour events – second at The Masters - and $8.6m in prize money was surely enough to win PIP’s $15m winner’s purse – ahead of an uncompetitive Tiger.

ANY CHANCE? Rory McIlroy. Pic: AP Photo/Martin Dokoupil

WHEN the PGA Tour announced at the end of the season that Rory McIlroy did not win its $100m Player Impact Programme (PIP) - despite winning its Tour Championship and returning to world number one - The Pitch asked the US tour to explain the metrics.

Yes, it admitted, Rory’s $12m second prize came in a year which saw him “maintain such a high level of excellence for a whole” season.