In recent years, prize money in golf has been a contentious issue, and in the current climate it appears to only be heading one way. The introduction of LIV Golf, the PGA Tour signature events, and increases to Major championship and FedEx Cup prize pots have amplified the potential earnings of modern day professionals.
When you consider that legends of the game are now regularly seeing their career earnings eclipsed in a single season, or even a single event, many people believe that prize money in golf has gone from surreal to absolutely ludicrous...
The PGA Tour Earnings Boom
The average PGA Tour pro earned a staggering $3.6 million in the 2022-2023 season, an increase of around $2 million on the season before. In comparison, Lee Trevino, who won six Major championships, totalled PGA Tour career earnings of $3.4 million, falling around $200,000 short of last season's average. When Trevino topped the money list himself in 1970, he earned just $157,000.
Lee Trevino wins the Open Championship in 1971
The average season earnings have been growing exponentially over recent years, with the top prize money received by a single player approximately doubling year-on-year since 2021.
In fact, 2022 PGA Tour top earner Scottie Scheffler earned more than both 18-time Major winner Jack Nicklaus and eight-time Major winner Tom Watson did in their entire careers, while 2023 table-topper Viktor Hovland earner more than double their combined career earnings in one season.
Viktor Hovland sinking a putt to win the 2023 Tour Championship
The Game Changer - LIV Golf's Financial Injection
The introduction of LIV Golf to the world of professional golf has been one of the most talked about issues in the game's history, and it is not hard to see why. Some of the increases in spending on the PGA Tour could be attributed to the inordinate sums of money being given out on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series, where the 2022-23 season earnings average of the top-five players was $35 million.
Talor Gooch after winning the LIV Golf – Andalucia
The top earner that season, Talor Gooch, took home a staggering $44 million which would place him in the top-20 career earners on the PGA Tour. That excludes his previous PGA Tour earnings of just over $9million, earned over the space of 123 PGA Tour events, with Gooch earning five-times that sum in just 22 events last year.
If you take the average earnings of $35 million for a top-five player on the LIV Golf Series last year, it would take less than four seasons for one of the most successful players to eclipse Tiger Woods PGA Tour career earnings of approximately $120 million.
Tiger Woods in Sunday red at 2008 US Open
Signature Events and FedEx Cup
The introduction of eight signature events to the PGA Tour seems to be a strategic move to combat the spending of LIV Golf, in a bid to retain their best players and dissuade them from making the switch. While those efforts were clearly unsuccessful in the case of Jon Rahm, who struck a deal with LIV Golf worth upwards of $450 million, the signature events do boast an increased prize pot that could see the winner take home up to $4 million.
Jon Rahm hits a tee shot, on his way to winning the 2023 Masters Tournament
The FedEx Cup however appears to be the most lucrative way to earn your dollars on the PGA Tour, with Tour Championship and Fed-Ex Cup winner Viktor Hovland pocketing a record $37.1 million in 2022-23 alone. The $18 million first prize on offer at the Tour Championship is the biggest winner's purse available on the calendar, allowing players to surge above famous names such as Mark O'Meara, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman in just one event.
Mark O'Meara wins the 1998 Masters Tournament
It seems unfathomable that the trend of increasing earnings across professional golf has not yet reached its peak, but it appears the sport will continue to grow its financial footprint on the world sport stage. The legends of the game will always hold on that well-earned status, but before long we could see the financial rewards of a mediocre professional golf career far outweighing that of the sport's record breakers.
