Being a professional golfer is a pretty sweet deal, especially when you are playing for millions of dollars week in and week out. Of course, prize money has grown exponentially over time thanks to inflation, and a guy named Tiger Woods, who transformed the game into what we know today.
Here are the top 10 all-time career money earners on the PGA Tour.
Ernie Els
Career Earnings: $49,264,449
The Big Easy has racked up 19 wins on the PGA Tour since joining in 1994, including four majors. He is one of six golfers to twice win both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011 and made it all the way to world number one in 1997 and 1998.
Sergio Garcia
Career Earnings: $49,780,473
Spain’s Sergio Garcia has made almost $50 million, most notably winning the 2017 Masters and the Players Championship back in 2008. He’s been victorious 10 times in his career on the PGA Tour since joining in 1999.
Matt Kuchar
Career Earnings: $49,874,171
Kuchar is the newest name on this list, passing previous number 10, Davis Love III, towards the end of 2018 and into 2019. Kuchar started this year off with a bang, winning the Sony Open in Hawaii, and has continued his earning power to jump up to number 8 by mid-year. While Kuchar has yet to win a major, he was the runner up in the 2017 Player’s Championship, and performs with enough consistancy that he has been able to rack up quite an impressive of winnings in his 21+ years on tour.
Adam Scott
Career Earnings: $52,467,434
Adam Scott not only owns one of the prettiest swings on the PGA Tour, but also 13 PGA Tour wins, including the 2004 Players Championship and the 2013 Masters. He also has two WGC titles under his belt. In 305 starts, half of those ended in a top-25s or better. That’ll do!
Justin Rose
Career Earnings: $52,950,988
Justin Rose has virtually been near the forefront of the world golf rankings since bursting onto the scene at the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The then-17-year-old amateur chipped in on the last hole and finished fourth in the event. Since then all Rose has done is win 22 times around the world including 10 times on the PGA Tour and 12 times on the European Tour, and is the current #4 in the World Golf Rankings.
The feather in his cap, however, is the 2013 U.S. Open, in which he outdueled Phil Mickleson and Jason Day.
Dustin Johnson
Career Earnings: $61,518,538
Current world number two Dustin Johnson already sits fifth in all-time earnings with more than to $61 million. He turned pro in 2007 and has won every year on tour at least once, with the only exception being the 2014 season where he took a leave of absence for personal reasons. He finally broke through in the majors after several close calls winning the 2016 U.S. Open, a year in which he won three times on Tour, as well as Player of the Year and the Vardon Trophy.
Jim Furyk
Career Earnings: $70,916,515
Jim Furyk may not have the prettiest swing, but man is it effective. Since joining the Tour in 1994, Furyk has amassed over $70 million dollars. He’s got 17 wins to his credit, including his lone major at the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields. Winning the $10 million FedEx Cup in 2010 doesn’t hurt either. He also is the only man in PGA Tour history to shoot a 58 in a competitive round.
Vijay Singh
Career Earnings: $71,216,128
The Big Fijian has 34 wins to his credit since joining the PGA Tour in 1993, including three majors. Vijay rose to world number one in 2004 after an incredible year winning nine (!) times earning him Player of the Year honors. He was also the leading money winner on Tour in 2003, 2004 and 2008. Singh was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2006.
Phil Mickelson
Career Earnings: $90,513,535
Lefty owns 44 PGA Tour wins, good enough for ninth all-time, as well as five majors. Although he’s still searching for that elusive U.S. Open title where he’s finished runner-up a record six times! Regardless, over $90 million in on-course earnings is decent. He’s spent over 700 weeks in the top-10 in the Official World Golf Rankings and is a life member of the Tour. Phil was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.
Tiger Woods
Career Earnings: $118,663,768
Tiger Woods has earned a laughable $118.6 million since joining the Tour in 1996. Of course, he’s the reason why purses are the way they are today. He earned his 80th win at last year’s Tour Championship, his first win since 2013, and his impressive Masters win this year put him just one win shy of all-time winner Sam Snead. His numerous wins include 15 majors, 18 WGC titles, and 2 Players Championships. In fact, he has so many wins, they needed their own Wikipedia page. He led the Tour in money 10 times and was named Player of the Year 11 times.
*Earnings updated as of 7/15/19.
