I would love to say it just gives you the score that tiers you up to the tier you just beat. Example, beating a TourMaster (if you aren't one) would "card" a 63 for you in your list of best ranked rounds. Many of us first thought that because the players that hadn't recorded a first round at their new tier posted that score first when beating another higher tier.
But, that's not even the case because it seems at any given time your "average" (and I use that term very loosely) drops a good bit....over a stroke in most cases I've seen.
Your score only takes into account whether you beat the higher tiered player or not. It doesn't discriminate, from my observation, whether you beat the player 5UP or 1UP on the 23rd extra hole. It's simply a victory for you vs a higher tier. And, I have yet to see the average rise in a loss no matter how few ranked rounds you have in your current tier.
Embrace the change. It's here to stay. Although a good many of us would like to see it toned down a bit and only used in the credit challenge format.