pga tour earnings rankings

The CJ Cup Byron Nelson

TPC Craig Ranch

Crunching the Numbers

The 5 most eye-opening takeaways from the final 2022-23 PGA Tour money list

It was once the standard that largely determined whether PGA Tour pros kept or lost their playing privileges for the following year. These days, however, the end-of-the-season money list exists so far in the shadow of the FedEx Cup, you’re hard pressed to find it on the tour’s website. But found it we did—you can see the final tally here —as the 2022-23 edition became official upon the conclusion of last week’s BMW Championship (the $75 million on the line at the Tour Championship is technically not prize money but rather FedEx Cup bonus dollars).

A look at the numbers motivated us to take the extra step of compiling data for the past 10 years, along with snapshots from 2003, 1993 and 1983. Comparing all the crazy cash provides a fascinating picture of how things have changed over the years—and really changed the last few seasons. Here are a few things that caught our eye.

Holy hell, Scottie Scheffler just won a lot of money

Scheffler, who never finished outside the top 11 in a single tournament before the Open Championship, was insanely good this year, and his outrageous skill earned him a figure that is almost garish: $21 million and change to top this year’s list. For context, prior to 2022, just one player had ever earned more than $10 million in a single season, and that was Jordan Spieth in his wonder year of 2015. Then in 2021-22, Scheffler broke every record by earning $14 million. Now he has lapped himself, and if he can pull out the FedEx Cup title this week, he'll claim another $18 million.

Mind you, this is about more than just success; the total money available to players this season on the PGA Tour exceeded $500 million for the first time, an increase of about $140 million last year alone. Scheffler was one of seven tour pros to earn eight figures this season (Jon Rahm was second on this year's money list with $16 million in earnings). So Scheffler's haul is a combination of great play and a rising tide.

More From Golf Digest

That rising tide is raising most ships

Among the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list in 2023, the average earnings were $3.79 million, an increase of almost a million dollars from 2022's $2.84 million. If you look at specific positions on the money list, too, Si Woo Kim's 30th-place haul of $5.38 million is a jump of $2.5 million from K.H. Lee's 30th-place money in 2022; Sam Ryder in 70th ($2.36 million) beat Matt Jones' 70th total ($1.91 million); and you have to go down to 125th before you find that Nico Echavarria's $951,000 just fell short of Charles Howell III's figure of $1.03 million last year. In all, the only thing that stayed relatively steady was the number of players making at least a million dollars. After a big jump in 2021 from 112 to 124 (not counting the shortened COVID year of 2020), it went up to 126 last year, and back to 124 in 2023.

The rich are definitely getting richer

To the tour's credit, the emphasis on designated events and increasing top prizes didn't materially affect the earnings of the players lower on the list, although it's also a fact that the lion's share of the gains went to the top players. To some extent, that's again because of great results; Scheffler making 172 percent more than 2021 top finisher Jon Rahm isn't just about higher purses. But incrementally the higher positions on the money list saw bigger gains, at No. 30, Si Woo Kim saw a 60-percent increase; Ryder saw a 21-percent increase at No. 70, and once you got down to No. 125, there was actually a decrease in earnings. Even when you look at 2013, the amount made by the 125th player, Kevin Chappell, wasn't that far behind today's 125 at $647,000. One of the main points of the changes implemented this year was to funnel dollars to the best players, in a model that's more representative of their worth to the tour, and that very much came to pass.

Warren Little

The prize increases at the top are outpacing inflation by a whole lot

In 1983, Hal Sutton was the top earner on tour, taking home $426,000. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , that would be about $1.38 million today … a sizable increase, but nowhere near the reality of Scheffler's $21 million haul. You don't have to look at a 40-year gap, either; Tiger Woods' total of $8.5 million in 2013 would be worth about $11 million today. Again, not very close. It's happening at the bottom, too; the tour average for players in the top 125 of $116,000 in 1983 would only be worth $360,000 today, not the $3.8 million tour pros averaged in 2022-23. Golf has become a far richer sport for its top athletes.

This is almost definitely the new normal

This is just simple math; a big part of the changes this year were a result of the tour trying to compete with LIV Golf. If for whatever reason the merger doesn't go through, they're still going to have to compete with LIV Golf, and if it does go through, they'll have the assets of the PIF at their disposal. There's no scenario barring some kind of economic depression in which this very expensive toothpaste goes back in the tube. If anything, you'd expect it to go up.

PGA TOUR Stat Leaders 2024

Statistics are updated nightly

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The list of top 18 money winners in pga tour history has plenty of surprises, share this article.

There’s a lot of money to be made in professional golf.

Tiger Woods maintains his overall lead atop the PGA Tour’s all-time money list. He is the first golfer to surpass the $120,000,000 mark in on-course career earnings and the only one over the $100 million mark. Phil Mickelson, before departing for the LIV Golf League, surpassed the $90 million mark. Rory McIlroy is third on this list as he has gone past $80 million.

With the bigger pots at stake in the PGA Tour’s signature events, expect a lot of movement up in the next few years on this list.

With that in mind, let’s look at the top money earners of all-time, as measured by on-course winnings. Some of the names may surprise you.

Editor’s note: This list is updated through the 2024 RBC Heritage.

18 Ernie Els - $49,385,600

Photo by Thomas J. Russo/USA TODAY Sports

17 Rickie Fowler - $49,651,954

Rickie Fowler looks on from the seventh green during the first round of the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

16 Hideki Matsuyama - $50,171,691

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan high-fives fans as he walks to the trophy ceremony after winning the 2024 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. (Photo: Michael Owens/Getty Images)

15 Jon Rahm - $51,6036,851

Jon Rahm plays his shot from the fourth tee during the final round of the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

14 Sergio Garcia - $54,576,690

Sergio Garcia looks on from the sixth hole during the first day of the 2022 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

13 Justin Thomas - $57,057,380

Justin Thomas poses with the Wanamaker trophy after winning the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

12 Matt Kuchar - $58,849,967

Matt Kuchar hits his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club. (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

11 Jason Day - $59,384,085

Jason Day of Australia putts on the eighth green during the final round of the 2024 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. (Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)

10 Scottie Scheffler $61,258,464

Scottie Scheffler wins the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational. (Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)

9 Jordan Spieth - $62,180,604

Jordan Spieth hits from the 11th fairway during the first round of the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

8 Justin Rose - $62,481,391

Justin Rose of England lines up a putt on the tenth green during the first round of the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

7 Adam Scott - $64,290,490

Adam Scott with caddie Steve Williams before hitting from the fourth hole tee during the first round of the 2023 Genesis Invitational. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

6 Vijay Singh - $71,281,216

Photo by Andrew Redington/Allsport

5 Jim Furyk - $71,507,269

Jim Furyk plays his shot from the ninth tee during the second round of the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. (Photo: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports)

4 Dustin Johnson - $75,417,837

Dustin Johnson celebrates after winning the 2020 Masters at Augusta National GC. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)

3 Rory McIlroy - $81,810,229

Rory Mcllroy hits his tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Spyglass Hill. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)

2 Phil Mickelson - $96,644,310

Phil Mickelson walks through the crowd on the 18th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. (Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

1 Tiger Woods - $120,999,166

Tiger Woods crosses the Sarazen Bridge on near the 15th hole during the final round of the 2022 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)

Source: pgatour.com

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PGA Tour goes to Dallas for same course and new title. LIV Golf plays in Singapore

Shane Lowry, of Ireland, hits out of the sand on the 15th fairway during the final round of the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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THE CJ CUP BYRON NELSON

Site: McKinney, Texas.

Course: TPC Craig Ranch. Yardage: 7,414. Par: 71.

Prize money: $9.5 million. Winner’s share: $1,710,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Jason Day.

FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.

Last week: Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Notes: Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris and Tom Kim lead the contingent of Dallas-area residents playing the tournament. ... CJ Cup takes over as title sponsor after AT&T ended its sponsorship after nine years. CJ Cup started out with a tournament in South Korea, then moved to Las Vegas and South Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The field features only 10 of the top 50 in the world ranking. Spieth is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 20. ... Scottie Scheffler is missing the tournament as his wife is expecting their first child. ... Adam Scott is playing the tournament for the third straight year. He won the Byron Nelson in 2008. ... This is the final week to finish among the top 70 in the PGA Championship points list to assure a spot at Valhalla in two weeks. The points list is PGA Tour earnings the last 12 months. ... Spieth now has gone 43 starts over two years on the PGA Tour since his last victory.

Next week: Wells Fargo Championship.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

LIV GOLF SINGAPORE

Site: Singapore.

Course: Sentosa GC (Serapong). Yardage: 7,406. Par: 71.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $4 million.

Television: Thursday-Saturday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. (CW app); Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (The CW Network-Tape Delay).

Defending champion: Talor Gooch.

Points leader: Joaquin Niemann.

Last week: Brendan Steele won LIV Golf Adelaide.

Notes: Brendan Steele last week became the third straight first-time winner on LIV Golf, matching the longest such streak since the league launched in June 2022. ... Jon Rahm has yet to win since joining LIV this year, but he is the only player in 2024 to have finished in the top 10 in all six events. ... Ian Poulter and Hudson Swafford were the only players who did not have a round under par last week in Australia. ... Poulter in 2009 and Sergio Garcia in 2018 won the Singapore Open when it was played at Sentosa. ... With the PGA Championship approaching, LIV has three players in the top 100 who are not already eligible — Adrian Meronk, Lucas Herbert and Patrick Reed. ... LIV already has 10 players in the PGA Championship field at Valhalla. ... After back-to-back weeks in Australia and Asia, LIV Golf is off for a month until a week before the U.S. Open.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Houston on June 7-9.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

EUROPEAN TOUR

VOLVO CHINA OPEN

Site: Shenzhen, China.

Course: Hidden Grace GC. Yards: 7,147. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.25 million. Winner’s share: $375,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 12-5 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 12-4:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 11:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: Sarit Suwannarut.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Last week: Yuto Katsuragawa won the ISPS Handa Championship.

Notes: The China Open returns to the European tour schedule for the first time since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament was held last year co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the China Tour. ... This is the final event that counts toward the Asian Swing on the European. The top three players get exemptions into the PGA Championship next month at Valhalla. Sebastian Soderberg, Keita Nakajima and Jesper Svensson are currently holding down the top three spots. ... Thriston Lawrence leads the European tour this season with five finishes in the top 10. ... Katsuragawa is the fourth player from Japan in the last seven months to win on the European tour. The others were Ryo Hisatsune, Rikuya Hoshino and Nakajima. ... The tour is off until the PGA Championship on May 16-19. After that begins a stretch in which 17 consecutive events (outside the majors) are staged in European countries.

Next tournament: PGA Championship on May 16-19.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

INSPERITY INVITATIONAL

Site: The Woodlands, Texas.

Course: The Woodlands CC (Tournament). Yards: 7,002. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.7 million. Winner’s share: $405,000.

Television: Friday, 12:30-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Steven Alker.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stephen Ames.

Last week: Stephen Ames won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

Notes: Bernhard Langer returns to competition after injuring his Achilles tendon while playing pickleball on Feb. 1. The injury caused him to miss the Masters. ... Langer has won every year since first becoming eligible for the PGA Tour Champions in 2007. He is a four-time winner of the Insperity Invitational. ... Stephen Ames took over the Charles Schwab Cup lead over Steven Alker by winning at the TPC Sugarloaf last week. It was his second win this season. ... Alker is the two-time defending champion at The Woodlands. ... Ames is the only multiple winner on the PGA Tour Champions in 2024. ... The field includes Steve Stricker, who missed the cut last week in New Orleans on the PGA Tour. ... Paul Broadhurst of England has won and finished runner-up in his last two starts. ... This is the last regular event before the first of five majors on the PGA Tour Champions schedule.

Next week: Regions Tradition.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

Last week: Hannah Green won the JM Eagle LA Championship.

Next week: Cognizant Founders Cup.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

KORN FERRY TOUR

Last week: Tim Widing won the Veritex Bank Championship.

Next tournament: AdventHealth Championship on May 16-19.

Points leader: Tim Widing.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

OTHER TOURS

Epson Tour: Casino Del Sol Golf Classic, Sewailo GC, Tucson, Ariz. Defending champion: Gigi Stoll. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

PGA of America: PGA Professional Championship, Fields Ranch at PGA (East and West), Frisco, Texas. Defending champion: Braden Shattuck. Television: Tuesday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Wednesday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel). Online: https://www.pga.com/

Japan Golf Tour: The Crowns, Nagoya GC (Wago), Aichi, Japan. Defending champion: Hiroshi Iwata. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/

Asian Tour: GS Caltex Maekyung Open, Namseoul CC, Seongnam, South Korea. Defending champion: Chanmin Jung. Online: https://asiantour.com/

Legends Tour: Barbados Leges, Apes Hills Barbados, Saint James, Barbados. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/

Japan LPGA: World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup, Ibaraki GC (East), Ibaraki, Japan. Defending champion: Yuri Yoshida. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

Korea LPGA: Kyochon 1991 Ladies Open, Sunsan CC, Gumi South Korea. Defending champion: Bokyeom Park. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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CJ Cup Byron Nelson 2024 Friday tee times, PGA Tour pairings and how to watch

The first day of the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson is in the books (after a late start thanks to the weather), and there’s a packed leaderboard at TPC Craig Ranch.

Matt Wallace sits at 8 under with a one-shot lead, while names like Alex Noren, Jake Knapp (winner earlier this season at the Mexico Open) and Taylor Pendrith are part of a contingent at 7 under.

TPC Craig Ranch is a 7,414-yard, par-71 layout.

The purse at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson is $9.5 million with $1.71 million going to the winner. The winner will also receive 500 FedEx Cup points.

Byron Nelson : Odds, picks to win

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the second round of the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. All times listed are ET.

Friday tee times

How to watch, listen.

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live . You can also watch the RBC Heritage on Golf Channel free on Fubo . All times ET.

Friday, May 3

Golf Channel/ Peacock : 4-7 p.m

Sirius XM: 1-7 p.m

ESPN+ : 7:45 a.m.-7 p.m

Saturday, May 4

Golf Channel/ Peacock : 1-3 p.m

CBS: 3-6 p.m.

Sirius XM: 1-6 p.m

ESPN+ : 8 a.m.-6 p.m

Sunday, May 5

Story originally appeared on GolfWeek

Two-time PGA TOUR winner Ron Cerrudo dies at 79

Ron Cerrudo played the PGA TOUR full time from 1968 to 1977, eventually leaving the touring life to become a successful club pro and instructor. (PGA TOUR Archive)

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In his two PGA TOUR victories, Ron Cerrudo left little doubt who was the best player in both of the weeks he walked away with trophies.

Near the end of the 1968 PGA TOUR season, at the Cajun Classic at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana, Cerrudo rolled to a four-shot triumph over the duo of Bobby Mitchell and Charlie Sifford. Fifteen months later, at the 1970 San Antonio Open, Cerrudo coasted to a four-stroke, 54-hole lead and went on to rout the field in winning at Pecan Valley Country Club by five shots.

Nailbiters, it seemed, were never a part of the equation for Cerrudo, who died April 24 in his adopted home of South Carolina. He was 79.

Cerrudo played the PGA TOUR full-time from 1968 to 1977, eventually leaving the touring life to become a successful club pro and instructor. Cerrudo, born in Palo Alto, California, on Feb. 4, 1945, was the 1964 California Amateur of the Year. He first attended Chabot Community College in nearby Hayward before transferring to San Jose State, where he led the Spartans to a second-place finish at the 1966 NCAA Championship, four shots behind winner Houston. Cerrudo tied for fifth in the individual competition. He twice earned first-team All-American honors as a Spartan.

In the summer of 1966, at the U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania, Cerrudo had a two-foot putt that would have put him in a three-man playoff at a time when the United States Golf Association still used stroke play to determine a champion. Cerrudo admitted he rushed his putt on the 18th green, missed and then watched as Deane Beman defeated Gary Cowan in sudden death.

“It just goes to show you what one careless move can cost you,” Cerrudo later told the Oakland Tribune. “But it taught me a lesson, and maybe it’s for the best.”

A year later, Cerrudo, after finishing third at the U.S. Amateur, represented the U.S. at the Walker Cup against a team from Great Britain & Ireland at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in England. Cerrudo compiled a 1-1-2 record in his four matches as the U.S. retained the Cup.

While still an amateur, Cerrudo had already appeared in four PGA TOUR tournaments, making the cut in all four—his best finish a tie for 13th at the 1967 American Golf Classic in Akron, Ohio. He also played on the weekend at both of his Masters appearances (1966 and 1967). Cerrudo made his professional TOUR debut late in 1967 after two consecutive summers of close calls on the amateur circuit. Besides his third-place finishes at the U.S. Amateur, Cerrudo lost in the finals of The Amateur Championship, 2 & 1, to fellow American Bob Dickson. At the 1966 Western Amateur, Jim Wiechers, bested Cerrudo, 1-up, in the finals at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 Course.

Ron Cerrudo died in his adopted home of South Carolina at age 79. (PGA TOUR Archive)

Once he turned pro late in the season, Cerrudo made two TOUR starts, tying for 70th at the Hawaiian Open then finishing 11th at the Cajun Classic in Louisiana, a performance that was a harbinger of things to come in the Bayou.

A year later, Cerrudo’s talent was on full display the week before Thanksgiving in Louisiana as he shot rounds of 69-67-66-68—the only player in the field with four sub-70 scores—to win his first title.

“It’s a bigger thrill than anybody knows,” he told the media following his victory. “I was starting to get the feeling of a bridesmaid, wondering if I was ever going to win anything.”

Cerrudo then only waited 15 months to win again, this time in San Antonio. He played the final round with old friend Dick Lotz, also from California. It was a bit of revenge for Cerrudo, who lost to Lotz in the finals of the 1962 California State Amateur.

At Pecan Valley Golf Club, after Lotz had narrowed Cerrudo’s Sunday advantage to one stroke with nine holes to play, Cerrudo made a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 10, he chipped in for birdie at the 12th and rolled in back-to-back birdie putts, starting at No. 14, allowing him to salt away win No. 2.

“You’ve got to be aggressive to win,” he said. “You start playing it safe and the field’s going to go right by you.”

It turned out to be an abbreviated 1970 season for Cerrudo, who took time off after his win to rest his painful back. He eventually underwent surgery in August to repair a ruptured disc but still finished 57th on the money list despite appearing in only 15 tournaments. He closed the following season 81st on the money list, with three top-10s then was 85th in 1972. His lone highlight that season didn’t come in the U.S., however. In December, Cerrudo traveled to Africa to play in the second edition of the Hassan II Golf Trophy in Morocco. He battled Al Geiberger through 72 holes, the two Californians tying at the end of regulation. In the overtime, Cerrudo parred the first hole to Geiberger’s bogey, giving Cerrudo the first-place check of $13,000 and a trophy, a dagger encrusted with 210 diamonds.

Cerrudo’s play and health continued to drop off after that, and he never finished higher than No. 100 in earnings. By 1978, Cerrudo only played seven tournaments.

At the close of the 1970s, he essentially retired from TOUR golf to become the head teaching professional at the Shipyard Golf Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina. After 17 years at Shipyard, Cerrudo accepted a position as the head teaching pro at Port Royal Golf Club, also in Hilton Head, where he remained until 2002 when he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and the Daniel Island Club. He held that position until his death.

Just three months ago, the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame inducted Cerrudo into its 2024 class.

Cerrudo is survived by his wife of 50 years, Madeline, his daughters, Katherine Erdman and Stacy Artherton, and two siblings, brother Gordon and sister Deborah.

The family will hold a celebration of life on May 10 at the Daniel Island Club.