FORESTVILLE, New York – Since the introduction of LIV Golf in the 2022 professional golf season, golf has taken yet another turn in the monopolization of the sport. This change has led to significant increases in tournament purses, with the eight signature events totaling $20 million dollars in payouts. With that said, let’s take a look at the current top 20 all time earners from PGA Tour official payouts. Some might surprise you.
20) BUBBA WATSON ($48,049,778)
The two time Masters Champion and now LIV golfer Bubba Watson starts off this list narrowly missing the 50 million dollar mark. With twelve victories and fourteen runner-up finishes, Watson is one of the best lefties to ever tee it up.
19) ZACH JOHNSON ($48,727,671)
2023 Ryder Cup Captain and two-time major winner (2007 Masters & 2015 Open) Zach Johnson has earned his fair share of winnings since turning pro in 2004. Johnson has secured 12 wins, 10 runner-up finishes, and 10 third place finishes over almost 500 career PGA tournaments.
18) ERNIE ELS ($49,385,600)
The 54 year old smooth-swinging legend from South Africa cracks the top 20 all-time money earners with his impressive career, winning nineteen times on the PGA Tour. Els has also won numerous times Internationally since turning pro in 1989.
17) RICKIE FOWLER ($49,651,954)
Fan favorite and most notable for his Sunday orange attire, Rickie Fowler edges out Els for sixteenth all-time. Fowler has secured six career PGA Tour wins to go along with fifteen runner-up finishes, 46 top five finishes, and 82 top ten finishes since turning pro in 2009.
16) HIDECKI MATSUYAMA ($50,171,691)
Known for his pause at the top of his backswing, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama is the first player to eclipse the 50 million dollar mark with his recent win at the 2024 Genesis Invitational. Matsuyama has 9 PGA Tour wins so far in his ten-year career, including the 2021 Masters.
15) JON RAHM ($51,603,851)
His short backswing and quick transition move make Spain’s Jon Rahm one of the most consistent ball strikers of our generation. He has eleven PGA Tour victories in only seven seasons as he most recently made the decision to go to LIV Golf at the end of 2023.
14) SERGIO GARCIA ($54,576,690)
The feisty Sergio Garcia follows up the only other Spaniard on this list with similar ball-striking abilities and impressive iron control. Garcia has finished inside the top ten in over 27 percent of career PGA Tournaments and has eleven victories, including his lone major championship at the 2017 Masters.
13) JUSTIN THOMAS ($57,057,380)
Beginning his eleventh year on tour, American Justin Thomas has fifteen wins since 2013 including the 2017 and 2022 PGA Championships. Thomas also won the Players Championship in 2021 and the FedEx Cup in 2017.
12) MATT KUCHAR ($58,849,967)
One of the best players to not win a major, Matt Kuchar is in his twenty-fourth season as a professional with nine wins and fifteen runner-up finishes. Forty-five year old Kuchar has not won since the 2019 Sony Open in Hawaii.
11) JASON DAY ($59,384,085)
Aussie native Jason Day rounds out the bottom half of this list with thirteen career wins and 55 top-five finishes over 344 events. Day was seemingly unstoppable during the 2015 season, securing five total wins and his lone major victory at the PGA Championship.
10) SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER ($61,258,464)
The hottest name in golf kicks off the top ten all time earners, Scottie Scheffler has amassed over sixteen million dollars over his last five starts, winning four and finishing second at the Valero Texas Open. With ten wins in the past three seasons and the new change in prize money, Scheffler might be the only one that can make a charge for the top spot on this list.
9) JORDAN SPIETH ($62,180,604)
Blasting into the scene in 2013 with his iconic bunker hole-out at the John Deere Classic, now 30 year-old Jordan Spieth has thirteen total wins, with ten of them over a three year span (2015-17). Spieth stole the spotlight from Jason Day’s 2015 season, also winning five times including two major championships (The Masters & U.S. Open) and the FedEx Cup. His last win came at the RBC Heritage in 2022.
8) JUSTIN ROSE ($62,481,391)
The 43-year old Englishman Justin Rose has been one of the steadiest golfers of the past two decades. He has eleven victories, an Olympic Gold Medal, and was the 2013 U.S. Open Champion. Rose has been a part of six Ryder Cup teams dating back to 2008.
7) ADAM SCOTT ($64,290,490)
The other Australian on this list goes to the 2013 Masters Champion Adam Scott. Similarly to Justin Rose, Scott has consistently won golf tournaments over the span of seventeen years. His magic number is fourteen; fourteen PGA wins, fourteen International wins, and fourteen runner-up finishes.
6) VIJAY SINGH ($71,281,216)
Sixty-one year old Vijay Singh from Fiji has had a long, illustrious career and the earnings to back it up. His 34 PGA victories put him top fifteen all-time, with nine wins in 2004 including the PGA Championship, The Masters in 2000, and was the FedEx Cup Champion in 2008, the last year he won on Tour.
5) JIM FURYK ($71,507,269)
Another player now on the Champions Tour starts the top five with seventeen career PGA victories and 31-runner up finishes. Jim Furyk, known for his awkward looping backswing, won the 2003 U.S. Open and was the FedEx Cup winner in 2010. Furyk is the team captain for the 2024 Presidents Cup.
4) DUSTIN JOHNSON ($75,417,837)
The king of World Golf Championships, now LIV golfer Dustin Johnson comes in at number four with twenty-four PGA Tour wins, including 6 WGC’s, the U.S. Open in 2016, The Masters in 2020 and was the FedEx Cup victor in 2020. Johnson was a late bloomer, winning fifteen tournaments from 2016-2020 after turning pro in 2007.
3) RORY MCILROY ($81,810,229)
Thirty-four year old prodigy Rory McIlroy has had quite the career, winning the FedEx Cup three times (2016, 2019, 2022) and is a four time major winner (2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship, 2014 PGA Championship). Since joining the PGA Tour in 2010, McIlroy has won more than one golf tournament in seven out of thirteen seasons.
2) PHIL MICKELSON ($96,644,310)
The best left handed golfer of all time and eighth all time in PGA Tour wins (45) is Phil Mickelson. The arch nemesis of Tiger Woods, Mickelson won as an amateur in 1991, turned pro in 1992, and did not stop winning until 2013. His late resurgence from 2018-2021 was capped off by a historic PGA Championship win, making now LIV golfer Phil Mickelson the oldest to ever win a major championship (50).
1) TIGER WOODS ($120,999,166)
The inexplicable No. 1 one on this list is no one other than Tiger Woods. Beating Mickelson by almost $25 million, Woods is tied for first in all-time wins (82) with Sam Snead including 15 major championships. From 1999-2000, Woods won 17 times. That is more than 15 of all the other players on this list during their entire career. In 375 career starts, Woods has finished in the top ten 53 percent of the time.
With pay checks on the rise, it is interesting to see how many players that are not on this list that have won more golf tournaments than the players above. This list is strictly about the money that players have earned over their entire PGA Tour career without endorsements and other payouts.
At the pace of dramatic increased tournament purses it’s likely that Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will surpass Tiger Woods in the next few years. Makes me wonder what this list will look like in ten years?
SOURCE: PGA Tour
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