A year after setting a new PGA Tour single season earnings record when he took home over $14 million in on-course earnings, Scottie Scheffler has broken the financial ceiling again by banking over $21 million in the 2023 season.
And with the Tour Championship yet to come, the world number one could cash in to the tune of an additional $18 should he go on to top the leaderboard come Sunday evening at East Lake.
As the number one in the FedEx Cup rankings, Scheffler will start at -10, two strokes clear of Viktor Hovland, with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm starting at -7 and -6 respectively.
Rahm’s season earnings of just over $16.5 million would’ve been record setting itself had it not been for Scheffler’s consistent presence at the top of leaderboards, but with wins at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, The American Express, The Genesis Invitational and The Masters, Rahm remains in pole position to be crowned PGA Tour Player of the Year, even if his season has gone a little off the boil in recent weeks.
In 2015, Jordan Spieth became the first player to break the $12 million mark thanks to victories at The Masters, the U.S. Open, The Valspar Championship, the John Deere Classic and the Tour Championship, but the introduction of the ‘designated events’ series and the massive increase in prize money that accompanied them, combined with the Major Championships increasing their prizefunds in accordance, sees Scheffler come close to doubling the figure.
Viktor Hovland is third on this season’s list with just over $14 million thanks largely to victories at the Memorial Tournament and the BMW Championship, both of which carried $3.6 million first place cheques, whilst Rory McIlroy is less than $200,000 behind the Norwegian in fourth, though McIlroy’s only PGA Tour win came at the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open which earned him $1.5 million.
Seamus Power’s early season form helped him to $3.8 million, Shane Lowry made a shade over $2.5 million, and despite limited starts, Padraig Harrington still made more than $500,000.
In total, 123 players broke the $1 million mark, 80 earned $2 million or more, 34 made more than $5 million, and, in addition to Scheffler, Rahm, Hovland and McIlroy, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, and Patrick Cantlay all took home eight-figure sums in on-course earnings.
With just two starts to his name – one of which was The Masters where he made the cut but was forced to withdraw – Tiger Woods is 220th on the money list thanks to the $59,560 earned for his tie for 45th at the Genesis Invitational back in February.
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