19th Hole
Bubba Watson claims this is why he hasn’t received his full PGA Tour PIP payment

Bryson’s back in the news.
Whether it’s joining LIV, being a legitimate challenger at the World Long Drive Championship, or struggling to get under the gallery ropes, the 2020 US Open champion is rarely far from the golfing headlines.
As such, the 29-year-old is one of the most sellable of golf’s assets, a factor that wasn’t lost when the idea of the inaugural Player Impact Program was released.
Under the program, the top players that created the most interest in the PGA Tour, via internet searches, social media and associated exposure tools were rewarded handsomely, with DeChambeau ‘earning’ around $3.5 million for his efforts in finishing fifth in the table.
Speaking at the final LIV event of the year, in Miami, DeChambeau said, “This is this is not about the money. To me, it’s about principle.”
He doesn’t need it, and admits he doesn’t want it in his own hands.
“I’ve gone through that calendar year. I was fifth on the list, I completed everything I could complete, and we scheduled something for November, not knowing that this was going to happen,” DeChambeau said. “It happened, and I can’t receive (the money). I’m OK with that… somehow, I hope that the PGA Tour could take that money and do something well with it. I would do the same thing. I’m pledging to give that to junior golf.”
Now fellow LIV signee Bubba Watson also claims the PGA Tour also owes him money, this time for finishing 10th in the initial standings.
According to a report in SI.com, the PGA Tour cancelled an appearance by the two-time Masters champion, therefore casting doubt on his legitimate claim to the full $1.5 million.
The report suggests that Watson was to appear at a sponsor’s event (an obligation to receive his PiP payment) at TPC Sawgrass but that the PGA Tour, who said they would re-schedule, canceled the appearance.
“I’ve never cancelled anything,” assures Watson. “I was going to fly somewhere on my own dime. And they canceled on me a couple of times.”
In an interview with The Times, the 43-year-old, yet to play in a LIV event due to injury, also took the moment to describe what he sees as hypocrisy from the PGA Tour.
“Everybody in the world can make money off of Saudi Arabia but, when it comes to individuals, it’s not allowed. Why is it OK for them and not for Bubba Watson?”
He continued,
“The PGA Tour has an almighty dollar and they’re trying to protect it by not letting others play or have an event in the US. It’s a sad and hypocritical place we’re in in our world and our sport.”
As for the controversy over money-before-heritage:
“Well, when I was on the PGA Tour, I was getting paid money behind the scenes to show up at events from sponsors. And if Bubba Watson is getting it, the so-called big-time players — because I’m not as popular as them — they got paid the same amount … or maybe a little less.”
“It makes me laugh when people say those things. It’s so hypocritical. These players have guaranteed money. The real world just doesn’t see it.”
With the PGA Tour offering enhanced payments next season, no doubt spurred on by the huge amounts offered by LIV, players thinking of jumping ship in the near future may well take heed of Watson’s comments, very close to echoing those of DeChambeau.
“They [PGA Tour PiP] still owe me $1.5m. I did everything they asked, but somehow I never got the second half of the money.”
More from the 19th Hole
19th Hole
‘Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight’ – LPGA pro offers candid take following rough AIG Women’s Open finish

An opening round of 77 left LPGA pro Jenny Shin with a mountain to climb at last week’s AIG Women’s Open.
However, fighting back with rounds of 69 and 67, Shin found herself six shots off the lead and just outside the top 10 heading into Sunday as she went in search of her first major victory.
Shin, who won the US Girls’ Junior at just 13, couldn’t back those rounds up on Sunday, though, and after playing her opening nine holes of the final round in level par, she then bogeyed three holes coming home to slip down the leaderboard and eventually finish T23.
Taking to X following the final round, Shin offered a frustrated and honest take on how she was feeling, posting: “Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish.”
Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish
— Jenny Shin (@JennyShin_LPGA) August 3, 2025
Shin has made 11 cuts in 13 starts on the LPGA Tour this season, but has been plagued by frustrating Sunday finishes throughout the year. Shin ranks 102nd on tour this year out of 155 for Round 4 scoring in 2025.
Miyu Yamashita won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open with a composed final round of 70 to win her first major of her career by two strokes.
19th Hole
How a late golf ball change helped Cameron Young win for first time on PGA Tour

Cameron Young won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his first victory on the PGA Tour.
Young dominated all weekend at TPC Sedgefield, running away from the pack to win by six strokes and put himself in contention for a Ryder Cup pick in September.
Ahead of the event, the 28-year-old switched to a Pro V1x prototype golf ball for the first time, following recent testing sessions with the Titleist Golf Ball R&D team.
Interestingly, Young played a practice round accompanied by Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s Director of Tour Research & Validation, at TPC Schedule early last week with both his usual Pro V1 Left Dot ball and the new Pro V1x prototype.
Per Titleist, by the second hole Young was exclusively hitting shots with the Pro V1x prototype.
“We weren’t sure if he was going to test it this week, but as he was warming up, he asked to hit a couple on the range,” Pitts said. “He was then curious to see some shots out on the course. Performance-wise, he was hitting tight draws everywhere. His misses were staying more in play. He hit some, what he would call ‘11 o’clock shots,’ where again he’s taking a little something off it. He had great control there.”
According to Titleist, the main validation came on Tuesday on the seventh hole of his practice round. The par 3 that played between 184 and 225 yards during the tournament called for a 5-iron from Young, or so he thought. Believing there was “no way” he could get a 6-iron to the flag with his Left Dot, Young struck a 5-iron with the Pro V1x prototype and was stunned to see the ball land right by the hole.
“He then hits this 6-iron [with the Pro V1x prototype] absolutely dead at the flag, and it lands right next to the pin, ending up just past it,” Pitts said. “And his response was, ‘remarkable.’ He couldn’t believe that he got that club there.”
Following nine holes on Tuesday and a further nine on Wednesday, Young asked the Titleist team to put the ProV1x balls in his locker. The rest, as they say, is history.
19th Hole
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’

Rickie Fowler fired an opening round of one-under par on Thursday at the Wyndham Championship, as the Californian looks to make a FedEx Cup playoff push.
Fowler is currently 61st in the standings, so will need a strong couple of weeks to extend his season until the BMW Championship, where only the top 50 in the standings will tee it up.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, Fowler has made an equipment switch of note, changing into new iron shafts, as well as making a switch to his driver shaft.
The 36-year-old revealed this week that he has switched from his usual KBS Tour C-Taper 125-gram steel shafts to the graphite Aerotech SteelFiber 125cw shafts in his Cobra King Tour irons, a change he first put into play at last month’s Travelers Championship.
Speaking on the change to reporters this week, Fowler made note that the graphite shafts offer “something that’s a little easier on the body.”
“I mean, went to the week of Travelers, so been in for, I guess that’s a little over a month now. Something that’s a little easier on the body and seemed to get very similar numbers to where I was at. Yeah, it’s gone well so far.”
Fowler has also made a driver shaft change, switching out his Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX for a UST Mamiya Lin-Q Proto V1 6 TX driver shaft in his Cobra DS-Adapt X, which he first implemented a couple of weeks ago at the John Deere Classic.
However, according to Fowler himself, the testing and potential changes are not done yet.
“Probably do some more testing in some different weight configurations with them once I get some time. Yeah, I feel like we’re always trying to search, one, to get better but are there ways to make things easier, whether that’s physically, mentally, whatever it may be. So yeah, I thought they were good enough to obviously put into play and looking forward to doing some more testing.”
Fowler gets his second round at TPC Sedgefield underway at 7.23 a.m ET on Friday.