Mullets For The WIN!
Who are the 10 most popular players on Tour?
This week, Australians, Cameron Smith, and Marc Leishman won the popularity contest at the Zurich Classic with their mullets and “Mullet Song”. However, they’re probably not on the list of the 10 most popular players in a given year. Who do you think is on the list?
Australian Duo Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman Have Some Fun on Their Way to Victory at the Zurich Classic
If you’re a fan of the Zurich Classic in TPC Louisiana, you know that teams that make the cut receive special hype music during their first tee introductions on Saturday. Teammates Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman stole the show with ‘Mullet Song’ as their walk-up music! Props to Leishman for finding this song to pay tribute to Smith’s signature mullet.
Smith, who started sporting a mullet during quarantine, was joined by Leishman wearing a mullet wig on the first tee on Saturday.
In a recent interview with the Golf Channel, Smith commented on his mullet, "I saw a few of the rugby league boys at home doing it. It was a great time to do it during quarantine, just something fun. Make people have a laugh about it. I've just kind of kept it going. I've almost turned it into my good luck charm. It's not bad. I think it needs a little bit of a trim at the front. I'd really like to go full business at the front and party at the back. But maybe within the next couple months, it might change up a little bit."
The Australian team went on to shoot 20-under and win the event after a playoff with the South African squad of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
According to Smith, he promised his girlfriend that the mullet would go if he won, but apparently, he has reconsidered.
“I would have to apologize to my girlfriend, it's not going away. I mean, I feel like it's part of me now,” Smith said Sunday following his victory alongside Leishman.
New PGA Player Impact Program Set to Dole out $40 Million to the 10 Most Popular Players on the PGA Tour this Year
The PGA Tour announced the new Player Impact Program last week that will reward golf’s biggest stars regardless of how they perform on the course. With this program, which began on Jan. 1, 2021, players who are judged to drive fan and sponsor engagement will split a $40 million pool at the end of the season. Golfweek first reported this new program last week.
The algorithm used to presumably rank the players will include popularity in Google Search, Nielsen Brand Exposure ratings (how often they are on TV during tournaments), Q Ratings (how well-known they are to the general public), MVP Index ratings (social media engagement) and Meltwater Mentions (how often they are covered by the media).
It was initially reported that FedEx Cup points would be factored into the formula, but the PGA Tour later confirmed to GolfWeek that would not be the case. The PGA Tour also confirmed to ESPN that to be eligible players would have to commit to one corporate day per year for the Tour's purposes and add an event to their schedule "beyond the strength of field requirement."
According to Golfweek, if you look at the results from 2019, the money-earners would have been Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, and Justin Thomas.
Fans and players have mixed reactions to this new program. What do you think about it? Comment below.
Tiger Shares First Photo Since his Car Accident
It’s great to see Tiger out on a course again, even if he is on crutches.
Woods, 45, shared a photo on Instagram last week of himself using crutches to get around with his leg in a boot. He was standing next to his dog, Bugs.
"My course is coming along faster than I am," he wrote. "But it’s nice to have a faithful rehab partner, man’s best friend."
This is his first photo in 2 months after a serious car crash where he suffered multiple fractures and injuries on his right leg. The fractures from the crash were on the upper and lower parts of both the fibula and tibia and a rod was inserted to stabilize the area. Screws and pins were used to treat other injuries in the ankle and foot, while doctors sliced muscle in the area to relieve pressure and swelling in the area (a safeguard against infection).
Heal well, Tiger.