There can be a lot of money won playing professional tournament golf, especially on the PGA Tour and especially in the last two decades. And especially in the last two seasons.
Prize money has exploded on the circuit thanks to the signature events as well as the four majors boosting their purses.
Because of the influx of cash, four of the top five single-seasons for money earned happened during the 2022-23 season. One golfer has set a record for three years in a row. And Tiger Woods’ 2005 season ($10,628,024) is now not in the top 10.
Note: This list does not count bonus money awarded at the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship.
10
Wyndham Clark, 2022-23
$10,757,490
Clark won the U.S. Open for his first major championship. It was his second win of his breakout season. Clark made 24 of 27 cuts, while posting seven top-10 finishes. He’s made two-thirds of his career earnings total of $15 million this season.
9
Tiger Woods, 2006-07
$10,867,052
Riding the momentum and a (sort-of) winning streak from 2006, Tiger Woods continued to dominate on the PGA Tour during the first of his many comebacks. Woods won the Buick Invitational for the seventh time – and extended his PGA Tour-events-started winning streak to seven. The streak ended in February when Woods lost in the Round of 16 at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Woods ended the year by claiming the inaugural FedEx Cup, winning the final two events of the playoffs. The BMW Championship was his 60th career PGA Tour victory. He dominated in the Tour Championship, winning by eight shots with a 23-under 257 (64-63-64-66). That remains the lowest 72-hole score of his career.
8
Vijay Singh, 2004
$10,905,166
At age 41, Vijay Singh was as good as ever on the PGA Tour in 2004, winning the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and eight other Tour events. His overall finishes were equally impressive: he made 28-of-29 cuts, posted 18 top-10s and 24 top-25s. He also won PGA Tour Player of the Year honors.
7
Jordan Spieth, 2014-15
$12,030,465
At the age of 22, Jordan Spieth was the reigning U.S. Open and Masters champion when he won the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus. He became the youngest Tour Player of the Year since Tiger Woods in 1997. In addition to those two majors won during the 2014-15 season, Spieth also captured the Valspar in March, the John Deere Classic in July and the Tour Championship to complete a memorable season on multiple fronts.
6
Rory McIlroy, 2022-23
$13,921,008
Rory McIlroy has two wins this season and of the 17 events he played, he made the weekend at 15 of them. Twelve times he finished in the top 10, twice he was a runner-up.
5
Scottie Scheffler, 2021-22
$14,046,910
After entering the 2022 calendar year without a PGA Tour win, the 25-year-old Texan has vaulted into this list thanks to four victories in six starts, each win more impressive than the first. Scheffler finally broke through to victory lane in February at the WM Phoenix Open. He followed that up with a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Then came his first WGC win at the Dell Technologies Match Play. Now he’s a major champ, having won at Augusta National Golf Club to earn the green jacket. Over Memorial Day weekend, Scheffler almost won again, coming up short in a playoff against Sam Burns in the Charles Schwab Challenge. Still, he took home $915,600 for his work over the 73 holes. He took over the top spot with a T-2 at the U.S. Open, where he earned $1,557,687.
4
Viktor Hovland, 2022-23
$14,112,235
Viktor Hovland won twice this season: the Memorial, a designated event, and the BMW Championship, a playoff event. Both wins were good for $3.6 million. He made the cut in all 22 tournaments he entered and finished in the top 10 eight times. If Hovland were the top money winner this season, he’d have broken Scottie Scheffler’s single-season mark set a year ago, but in the age of signature events, Hovland’s whopping total ranks just third this season (and third best ever).
3
Jon Rahm, 2022-23
$16,522,608
Jon Rahm led the PGA Tour this season with four wins, including the Masters, his second career major, which was good for $3.24 million. He won $2.7 million at the Sentry, $1.44 million at the American Express and $3.6 million at the Genesis Invitatonal. Toss in 10 top 10s and that’s a lot of jack for one season. He’s also now gone over $50 million in career earnings.
2
Scottie Scheffler, 2022-23
$21,014,342
Scottie Scheffler, for the second year in a row, has set the new bar for most money earned in a single season. He made 22 of 22 cuts and posted 16 top 10s and has two wins, banking $3.6 million at the WM Phoenix Open and $4.5 million at the Players Championship, the richest prize on the PGA Tour.
Crazy to think he beat last year’s mark by about $7 million. He’s made $35 million in just the last two seasons and $42.5 million for his career.
1
Scottie Scheffler, 2024
$27,696,858
Make it three for three. Scottie Scheffler has set yet another single-season money record. Six wins before July certainly helps. Winning big-money signature events and majors helps, too. Scheffler is the first since Tiger Woods in 2009 to win six times in a season. He now has 12 wins in all on the PGA Tour and more than $70 million in career on-course earnings, making him the seventh golfer to do reach that mark.
