Highest paid golf players of all time: PGA Tour money list

Some exceptional talents miss out on this list due to number of events played – Justin Thomas is closing in on this list at speed – or from peaking when prize purses were significantly smaller.

Last year's Players Championship paid $4.5 million to its winner, Scottie Scheffler. The top prize at that event was just $1.89m as recently as 2017, which shows why ultra-experienced icons like Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els also miss out.

RadioTimes.com brings you a round-up of the highest-paid golf players of all time from the PGA Tour, up to and including the Mexico Open at Vidanta, not including earnings from the LIV Golf series.

Updated: 25th February 2024

10. Jason Day – $58,832,125

The Australian has started the 2024 season in strong form and that has powered him into this list. Sitting around $3,000 ahead of 11th placed Matt Kuchar at time of writing, the 36-year-old has jumped onto this leaderboard thanks to a combination of career consistency and standout performances.

Last year's AT&T Byron Nelson champion is 339 events into his 16-year PGA career and has finished in the top 10 an incredible 94 times. More than half of those have been impressive – and lucrative – top five finishes, with Day coming out on top 13 times. It was always a case of when not if JD would break into this top ten, and he won't be slowing his progress anytime soon.

9. Jordan Spieth – $61,747,504

The real question here is just how high Spieth's talent can take him up this ranking. The short-game specialist has spent 12 years as a professional and could yet be less than halfway into his PGA Tour career. His exceptional ability, born with and crafted through work, has earned him 13 tour wins, plus plenty more strong finishes. They have built up this ridiculous earnings total – which doesn't even include any of the money he'll be earning from sponsorships, like his deal with Under Armour.

Spieth is just one PGA Championship away from the career grand slam, a tournament he finished second at in his banner 2015 season. That season saw him finish as the FedEx Cup winner, the PGA Player of the Year and the PGA Tour money list leader, after bagging more than $12m on course. He has the talent and work ethic to eclipse that season total and hit heady heights on this list.

8. Justin Rose – $62,399,291

The Englishman is the second highest European on this list – no guesses at who's above him – with a fortune built up over 400 Tour events in a 20-year PGA career.

The 43-year-old has come a long way since his fourth-place finish at the 1998 Open Championship, as an amateur no less, and has the career earnings to reflect his sustained success.

The 2013 US Open was just one of Rose's 11 wins on the Tour, while 29 further trips to the podium have helped the golfer born in Johannesburg comfortably into this top 10. Holding off Jordan Spieth's financial charge might not be possible, but there's no doubt that Rose's career has been a special and lucrative one.

7. Adam Scott – $63,913,326

Nope, tell your mates we're not on about the Severance and Parks and Recreation star, but an Aussie golfer of the highest order.

The Uniqlo-clad sportsman has been a constant toward the top end of PGA leaderboards for more than two decades, taking the top spot at 14 events, with the same amount of runner-up finishes.

The Adelaide-born star is still adding to his legacy and earnings, bagging a tied eighth spot at the WM Phoenix Open in November. The 2013 Masters winner isn't resting on any laurels despite being in the back nine of his career.

6. Vijay Singh – $71,236,216

The Big Fijian is a great example of just how much the money has grown in professional golf. Singh won an incredible 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three majors, but his highest single take-home was just $1.35m, for winning the 2008 WGC Bridgestone Invitational. If he was playing at his peak today, he'd be eyeing up the summit of this countdown.

The former top golfer in the world made almost as much history as he did cash on the tour. Singh was the first person of South Asian descent to win a major, while he bagged the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2004 and was the leading PGA Tour money winner three times in the space of six years. It has truly been a career worthy of his Hall of Fame entry.

5. Jim Furyk – $71,507,269

The 53-year-old has been a professional for more than 30 years. It took him almost 20 to win his FedEx Cup, but still the former world number two achieved so much in his storied career. Most famously, Furyk carded the first round of 58 in PGA Tour history; a score only surpassed this year on the PGA Tour.

Furyk racked up his on-course riches through this combination of success and longevity. The Florida resident has been a part of an incredible amount of Tour events (636 to date), coming out on top at his fair share (17). His headline year was back in 2006, where he earned $7,213,316 on course.

4. Dustin Johnson – $75,417,837

Before DJ swapped over to LIV Golf in 2022, he made money hand over fist on the PGA Tour, dominating between 2016 and 2018. In the first of those seasons, the South Carolina native won the PGA money list, earning a whopping $9,365,185 on course.

The 39-year-old has bundled up his pile through 24 victories on the PGA Tour. He bagged a shred over $2m alone by winning his second of his two majors, the 2020 Masters. His reliable, strong showings led him to serious riches and to spend 64 weeks as the top golfer on the planet.

3. Rory McIlroy – $80,295,727

Rory has done so much in the game and has so much ahead of him. The 34-year-old has four majors to his name and will keep chasing down the only one missing from his career grand slam. We might not always see the best of the Northern Irish megastar, but his class, hard work and ability is evident every time he takes to the course.

McIlroy has 24 career wins to his name, plus ten runners-up berths. He’ll be adding to those in the rest of 2024 and beyond, inching him closer to the top two of this countdown. We've seen him play some outstanding golf in the past year, so don't be surprised to see the two-time PGA Tour leading money winner back with trophy in hand – and winnings in account – very soon.

2. Phil Mickelson – $96,572,310

The PGA Tour's oldest major champion banked an incredible amount of money before he hopped over to LIV Golf for a reported $200m. Mickelson is now thought to have earned more than $1 billion pre-tax earnings in his career – through both on and off-course activity – with the exceptional scope of his talent pocketing the lethal leftie almost nine figures alone.

Mickelson was never a PGA Tour season money winner, but 45 event victories and numerous top finishes have led him to a total only one man can top. The 53-year-old added healthy cheques to his account after winning six majors – three Masters, two PGA Championships and a single Open Championship – and would have earned significantly at the only major he never won. Mickelson finished second six times at the US Open, bagging him sizeable pay cheques in narrow defeat.

1. Tiger Woods – $120,954,766

Another golf list topped by Tiger Woods. It might be quicker to write about the records he doesn't hold.

Tiger's bank balance is the biggest because his career had everything. A record 82 PGA Tour wins point to an immense will to win, potentially never matched in the sport. That mentality combined with his out-of-this-world talent and desire to play the game for as long as possible has left Woods with an astronomical haul of career earnings.

The 48-year-old's biggest ever win was a whisker over $2m – less than half of what Scottie Scheffler banked for winning the Players Championship last year – but a total of five Masters, four PGA Championships, three US Opens and three The Opens were always going to contribute significantly to his standing on this list. He was the PGA Tour money winner a record 10 times; just another way that Tiger is golf's GOAT.

Who is the highest paid PGA Tour golfer of all time?

Earning big bucks in golf is reserved for the elite. Players who mix peaks of success on the course with longevity and consistency can take home incredible sums of money.

By epitomising these criteria, Tiger Woods earned himself an on-course fortune, which he only expanded off it. His biggest money season – his seven PGA wins in 2007 – bagged him almost $11m, a figure that now-LIV star Jon Rahm surpassed on the PGA Tour last season.

With the money in the game growing season on season, this list is sure to change at speed. Even still, Tiger will take some catching.

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