Tiger Woods has cashed in on his massive following by scooping a £6million prize without hitting a single ball in a professional golf tournament for more than a year.
Woods has been absent from tour events since a horror car crash last February which left him with severe leg injuries.
Despite that lack of action, he still saw off competition from the likes of controversial star Phil Mickelson and world number one Jon Rahm to win the top prize in the inaugural Player Impact Programme.
The incentive was brought in as a way for players to earn extra cash by generating more interest in the PGA Tour through traditional and social media.
A prize pot of £30m was on offer for the 10 players who did the most to "move the needle" in terms of increasing the PGA Tour's popularity.
Each player's effectiveness in that regard was measured through five metrics – internet search popularity, unique news articles including a player's name, a player's social media reach, their Nielsen Brand Exposure rating and their general awareness among the wider population in the USA.
Woods scooped the top prize of £6m, as he made up for his lack of competitive action by entertaining his massive online following with photos, videos and other updates on his long road to recovery.
Mickelson had claimed last December that he had won the top PIP prize, in a triumphant post on his Twitter account.
"I’d like to thank all the crazies (and real supporters too) for... Helping me win the PiP!!," he wrote on December 29. "To get the second half of the money I have to add an event I haven’t played in awhile. See you in Kapalua.
"P.S. I’ll try and find another hot controversial topic soon."
Instead, the American came in second to win the £4.5m runner-up prize – and was mocked for his premature celebrations by Woods after the actual results were confirmed.
Woods posted a screenshot of Mickelson's original Tweet on his own account, along with the simple caption: "Whoops."
Mickelson is currently taking a break from professional golf, after coming under fire for comments that emerged which appeared to show him using the rumoured Super Golf League as leverage to get more cash from the PGA Tour, despite describing the Saudi state as "scary motherf****s".
Coming after Woods and Mickelson, in descending order, were Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas, who all scooped £2.6m each.
Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Bubba Watson rounded off the top 10, with each player from seventh to tenth earning £2.25m.
