Seven years ago, Jordan Spieth had a season for the ages, winning five times, including a pair of majors. In fact, his finishes in the 2015 majors were 1, 1, 4, T2.
Spieth cleared $12 million in earnings, the first PGA Tour golfer to break that mark.
My how times have changed.
Thanks to an influx of money in the designated (now signature) events, along with the Big Four (PGA Championship, Masters, U.S. Open, British Open) upping their purses, the oversized checks they hand out are now humongous.
And Scottie Scheffler is cashing in.
A year after setting the Tour’s single-season record at $14 million, Scheffler set a new high-water mark at $21 million. The easy-going Texan was 22-for-22 in cuts made, posted 16 top 10s and had two wins, at the WM Phoenix Open (good for $3.6 million) and the Players Championship (where he won $4.5 million, the biggest payday on the PGA Tour).
It’s not just Scheffler counting zeroes on his bank account. Jon Rahm was second on the 2022-23 money list at $16.5 million. Viktor Hovland was third at $14.1 million and Rory McIlroy was fourth with $13.9 million. All four guys broke Spieth’s 2015 money mark.
Another three surpassed $10 million in earnings: Wyndham Clark ($10.7), Max Homa ($10.5) and Patrick Cantlay ($10.3).
Denny McCarthy was 20th on the money list this season and he made $6.4 million. Justin Thomas was 50th on the list and he earned $3.2 million. Callum Tarren checks in at No. 100. He made $1.3 million.
The Tour average was $2,146,002 and 76 golfers beat the average. There were 124 golfers who earned more than $1 million during the 2022-23 season.
Even Tiger Woods shows up on the money list. He’s 220th, having made $59,560 for his tie for 45th in February at the Genesis Invitational.