Our comprehensive round-up of the 10 highest paid PGA Tour golfers in the world today.
The money up for grabs on the PGA Tour has never been bigger. Every event plays out like a Crystal Maze cash scramble, with players vying for positions and FedEx Cup points that decide their salaries for the year.
Increased broadcast interest and competition has pushed the Tour to inject cash boosts to event prize purses, with the total pot for this season expected to exceed half a billion dollars.
Our countdown covers all the biggest winners up to and including May’s Wells Fargo Championship, won in style by Wyndham Clark.
The following list features many of the biggest and best names in golf today, while impressive talents like Rory McIlroy and RBC Heritage victor Matt Fitzpatrick are left knocking on the door.
RadioTimes.com brings you the round-up of the highest-paid golf players on the PGA Tour this year, not including earnings from the LIV Golf series.
Updated: 17th May 2023
10. Jordan Spieth – $5,549,622
It was tight but the former world number one squeaked into this top 10, despite not having a season victory to his name. He could have been much higher, too, if not for a hole-out heartbreak at the RBC Heritage in April. That fine margin ended up costing him the trophy – eventually on a third playoff hole – and around $1.5m.
The 29-year-old has still added to his bank balance generously this season, with five top 10 finishes leaving him in with a shot at ending the season toward the very summit of this list. Spieth left RBC Heritage with more money in defeat than he did after winning it the year before, which shows how real the jump in earnings on the PGA Tour has been in recent years.
9. Kurt Kitayama – $5,729,508
The 30-year-old bagged his first ever victory on the PGA Tour early this season, edging out the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by a single shot. This victory earned him a tasty purse of $3.6m.
His landmark weekend, combined with top 10 placings at the WGC Match Play and the CJ Cup, has brought him onto this leaderboard, but he’ll need to work hard to stay here. Kitayama has missed six cuts in 14 events this season, so will need to raise his levels a fraction if he wants to hold onto his position inside this list and the top 10 of the FedEx Cup rankings.
8. Sam Burns – $5,854,274
The Louisiana native might be one of the youngest golfers on this list, but that just means he’s got so much more success – and capital – in his future. Burns lands above experienced, established Tour stars after consistent placings and one big victory.
The 26-year-old recovered from consecutive missed cuts at the Genesis and Arnold Palmer Invitationals to beat players like Cameron Young and Patrick Cantlay to the WGC Match Play crown in March. He followed this up with strong showings at RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic to keep pace with some of the world’s elite golfers.
7. Patrick Cantlay – $6,040,625
It’s consistency that has Cantlay in such a healthy position. The 31-year-old has eight career wins to his name but none yet in 2022/23, with his wallet filled by regular strong finishes and close calls.
Patty Ice finished in the top 10 in six of his first 11 PGA events of the season, missing just one cut and finishing second at the Shriners Children’s Open. A pair of third place finishes at the Genesis and RBC Heritage have shown Cantlay’s ability to play exceptional, reliable golf, while missing the final touch to get him over the line. The 31-year-old is undeniably one of the premier golfers in the world and those statement victories aren’t far away.
6. Tyrrell Hatton – $6,055,594
The Englishman is the first of three consecutive players to break into this top ten off the back of their stellar performances at the Wells Fargo Championship. The 2020 Arnold Palmer winner finished T3 on the Quail Hollow course over the first weekend in May and bagged himself a whisker under $1.2m for his efforts.
He earned well over double that at the Players Championship, which contributed a considerable percentage of his season earnings. Hatton bagged almost $3m that weekend, despite finishing five shots behind world number two Scottie Scheffler. Add in winnings from strong showings at WM Phoenix Open and this year’s Arnold Palmer and Hatton had left himself on course for a bumper year on the PGA Tour.
5. Wyndham Clark – $6,082,979
Oh, what a weekend can change. Clark was languishing down in 36th place on the Tour money list before he rocked up at Wells Fargo, showing off all his power and clutch putting to walk off with his first ever PGA Tour win.
His dominant win at Quail Hollow was an emotional one for the 29-year-old, coming five years into his PGA Tour career, at the 134th time of asking. He earned $3.6 million for taming one of the least forgiving courses on the tour, more than doubling the money he’d banked already this season.
Nine top 25 finishes have kept him chugging along, while his closest call in 2022/23 before Wells Fargo was a third-place finish at the Zurich Classic, teaming with friend Beau Hossler.
4. Xander Schauffele – $6,362,197
It has been a case of ‘bridesmaid but never the bride’ for Schauffele lately. He’ll be happy to have jumped 10 places after his second-place finish at Wells Fargo, but the mammoth pay cheques that come with victories have eluded the Californian so far this season.
Xander may need to start closing out tournaments a little stronger if he wants more trophies, but he’s ranked fifth in the world for good reason.
Eight top 10s in the opening 13 events of the season, including money-spinning close calls at the American Express, WGC Match Play and RBC Heritage, have shown his stability and class. Schauffele finished sixth on the money list last season and is well placed to better that ranking in 2023.
3. Max Homa – $8,301,012
He’s one of the most colourful golfers on tour, and occasionally one of the most underrated. This season Homa is proving his worth on the PGA Tour, stealing victories and earning himself an extremely healthy nest egg in the process.
The 32-year-old has catapulted himself into a podium position on this season’s tour earnings with early season victories at the Fortinet Championship and the Farmers Insurance Open. A handful of excellent top 10 placings, including a narrow second at the Genesis, have supplemented these big wins and left the chasing pack much to do to catch the Californian.
2. Scottie Scheffler – $12,508,495
Last season’s PGA Tour money list leader won one the most prestigious and lucrative events on the tour earlier this season, the Players Championship. He bagged a third of his season earnings that weekend, taking home $4.5m for four days’ golfing. A couple more weekends like that would see him catch the number one on this list.
Scheffler has added another $8m to this Players Championship pay cheque by coming out victorious at the WM Phoenix Open and finishing in the top 10 six further times. Being in the mix at events like the Arnold Palmer, World Wide Technology Championship and the WGC Match Play has given him a chance of defending his money list crown.
1. Jon Rahm – $14,462,840
It’s no surprise that the super Spaniard is this season’s money list pacesetter. He is earning the title of the number one golfer in the world.
Rahm’s already won the Sentry Tournament of Champions, American Express, Genesis and, of course, the Masters in 2022-23, but, just as impressively, he’s placed high even in defeat. On top of those four victories, Rahm has a remarkable eight top 10 finishes this season, including his valiant chase of Tony Finau at the Mexico Open in April.
These performances have helped Rahm already break the record for most money won in one season. He’s currently first in the FedEx Cup rankings too, so could easily be adding another $20m bonus to his on-course earnings later this year. Not bad work if you can get it.
Who is the highest paid PGA Tour golfer of the year?
With the season in full flow, many of the game’s top talents are fighting tooth and nail to climb into the top 10 earners on the PGA Tour. Victories at some of the game’s most prestigious events have left Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa chasing down the number one golfer in the world.
Four victories, including a major, have lined Jon Rahm’s pockets nicely but he’ll be wanting to add more silverware to his collection – and collect the prize purses that go with them – before the season is over.
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