Who Are The Richest LIV Golfers?
LIV Golf's deep pockets have seen its players recoup plenty of cash in lavish signing-on fees and tournament prize money
With LIV Golf's third season underway, the cash continues to flow from the Saudi-backed Tour.
After an off-season that saw the high-profile and big-money signings of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, the 54-hole circuit continues to offer huge tournament prize money to those involved.
According to Forbes, LIV stars made up 12 of the 18 highest-paid golfers in 2023 when taking into account signing-on fees, tournament winnings and off-course earnings.
However, many of the biggest names who jumped to LIV did so after extensive and lucrative careers on the PGA Tour. When combining those figures with their more recent LIV earnings, the top-ten highest earners reveal some quite staggering figures.
It's important to stress that these are just estimates, based on prize money, reported LIV signing-on fees - which some may not have received entirely upfront - and other off-course sponsorship deals.
Top 10 Richest LIV Golfers
Jon Rahm - $390m
It's no surprise to see the Spaniard at the top of the list given the massive contract he signed to join LIV which, according to reports, saw the reigning Masters champion receive an upfront payment of just over $300million.
Rahm's off-course earnings see him bring in a further $25m, while the 29-year-old also earned around $51.5m in prize money on the PGA Tour. In total, that would bring his total earnings to a figure just shy of $400m. Not bad.
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Phil Mickelson - $205m
The six-time Major champion signed a bumped deal to become one of the faces of LIV Golf when they launched in 2021. Forbes estimates suggest he may have received $100m of that up front.
As well as sponsorship earnings, Mickelson also earned approximately $96.5m in career earnings on the PGA Tour, second only to Tiger Woods.
Dustin Johnson - $186.5m
Another one of LIV's big-name recruits in their inaugural season, Johnson netted more than $60m up front for joining LIV and enjoyed a hugely successful first year, claiming an $18m bonus for winning the 2022 LIV Individual award.
As well as this, the two-time Major champion earned just shy of $75.5m in career earnings on the PGA Tour, putting him fourth in the all-time list. Put together, the American's career earnings come up just approximately just shy of $200m.
Brooks Koepka - $120m
Koepka raked in more than $50m up front for joining LIV Golf in June 2022 and the American has won three times since then to bring in more than $26m in additional prize money.
Alongside this, he earned more than $43m on the PGA Tour thanks to his five Major victories and four additional Tour wins. His total earnings, therefore, are estimated to be around $120m.
Cameron Smith - $110m
The Australian was perhaps one of LIV's biggest coups when he made the jump shortly after winning the Open Championship at St Andrews in 2022. The deal, believed to be in the region of $100m, would have seen the 30-year-old earn around $50m up front.
Since then, Smith has won more than $30m in LIV prize money to go with the handsome $28m he earned on the PGA Tour after big wins at the Sentry and Players Championship in 2022.
Along with his off-course sponsorship deals, his earnings are believed to be around $110m.
Bryson DeChambeau - $107.5m
DeChambeau is estimated to have pocketed around $60m of his $120m LIV signing-on fee upfront.
Along with his on-course LIV earnings of around $20m, the American also earned $27.5m while on the PGA Tour thanks to his eight wins, including his maiden Major victory at the 2020 US Open.
Sergio Garcia - $105m
With 11 PGA Tour wins, Garcia had already earned just over $54.5m in prize money, ranking him 13th on the all-time earnings list.
Since his move to LIV, the Spaniard has earned just shy of $20m in on-course earnings to go with his healthy sign-on fee. In total, the 44-year-old brought in just shy of $50m in the past year, bringing his total earnings up to around $105m.
Patrick Reed - $90m
The 2018 Masters Champion is estimated to have earned just around $52m in the past year, according to Forbes.
Prior to that on the PGA Tour, Reed - a nine-time winner - earned just over $38m in prize money, putting him just outside the top 30 in all-time earnings on the Tour. In total, he has earned around $90m.
Bubba Watson - $88m
The two-time Masters champion's switch to LIV perhaps didn't attract as much attention due to his struggles with injury prior to the move. However, before that, Watson enjoyed a stellar career on the PGA Tour, earning just a touch over $48m.
Along with his 2023 earnings of around $40m, the American is now believed to have made just shy of $90m.
Tyrrell Hatton - $86m
Hatton signed a eleventh-hour deal to join Rahm's team in late January ahead of LIV's third season. The signing-on fee, believed to be around $64m, almost trebles the Englishman's entire PGA Tour earnings of $22m but pushes him just inside the top ten LIV earners ahead of the likes of Talor Gooch and Joaquin Niemann.
Ben joined Golf Monthly having completed his NCTJ in multimedia sports journalism at News Associates, London. He is now a freelance journalist who also works for The Independent, Metro, UEFA and Stats Perform.
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