There is a colossal amount of money in professional golf these days, with seven-figure checks up for grabs every week on a multitude of different tours.
On the PGA Tour in 2025, there was a grand total of $550,400,000 in prize money available which helped the average PGA Tour member earn more than $2.3 million.
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In the women’s game, a grand total of $133.2 million saw the average LPGA Tour player bank in excess of $700,000. The highest on-course earner was Jeeno Thitikul with $8.27 million, but Nelly Korda scooped the most money overall after winning almost $3 million and collecting endorsement payouts of $11 million.
Meanwhile, the LIV Golf League puts up $260 million for individual competition which was equally distributed among its 13 annual tournaments.
Nelly Korda (left) and Jeeno Thitikul
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Unsurprisingly, as a result, three of the top-10 highest earners across all of golf emerged from LIV. The other seven played the majority of their 2025 schedule on the PGA Tour.
The leading figure – and this should surprise no one – was men’s World No.1, Scottie Scheffler with more than $50 million in total. That includes over $27 million in on-course earnings and a healthy $23 million worth of bonus money.
Trailing some $15 million behind in second place was Rory McIlroy with just under $36 million overall. McIlroy actually finished third on the PGA Tour’s official money list this year but saw his tally topped up by $15.5 million in bonus money and an excellent run on the DP World Tour to end his season.
Third on the overall list but first in terms of the highest-earning LIV Golfers of 2025 was Jon Rahm, despite the fact he failed to win an individual event outright all year.
The Spaniard ultimately picked up more than $33 million thanks to his second LIV Golf League individual championship title and the $18 million check that comes with it. Otherwise, a couple of top-10s at Majors and some respectable showings at DP World Tour events led to Rahm’s extremely healthy level of income.
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Rahm’s season victory forced Joaquin Niemann – who claimed a remarkable five individual titles throughout the most recent LIV campaign – into fourth on the list of golf’s highest earners in 2025 and second in regards to the PIF-backed circuit.
The Chilean has to count himself unlucky that he did not emerge with the season-long prize, but perhaps potential changes to the points system might help him out in 2026. Either way, he left 2025 with an incredible $31 million all told.
Tommy Fleetwood completes the top-five in this particularly lucrative table, with his awesome FedEx Cup victory not only banishing any PGA Tour ghosts but also ensuring his yearly earnings were boosted by $10 million.
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The popular Englishman endured a slightly disappointing run at the Majors, but a white-hot run of form which began after The Open considerably boosted his earning power and left him on almost $25.5 million.
Russell Henley was the only other player in world golf to finish the season with more than $20 million in prize money ($20.86 million), and he sits fifth on the list ahead of US Open champion JJ Spaun with $19.11 million.
A two-win season on the PGA Tour and a whole heap of bonus money for Sepp Straka put him eighth with $17.64 million, just ahead of the final LIV Golf representative, Bryson DeChambeau.
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The American’s limited schedule somewhat capped his on-course earning power, but a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship and a great week at The Masters at Open Championship helped DeChambeau to a little over $17 million in total.
The 10th and final player to make this list was America’s Ben Griffin. The popular Ryder Cup star won three PGA Tour titles in 2025 – including his first alongside Andrew Novak to kick things off – and ended the year having earned $16.66 million on the course.
Below is a full list of the top-10 highest earners in golf this season.
TOP-10 EARNERS IN GOLF 2025Swipe to scroll horizontally
Position
Player
2025 Earnings
1st
Scottie Scheffler
$50,897,050
2nd
Rory McIlroy
$35,877,054
3rd
Jon Rahm
$33,429,211
4th
Joaquin Niemann
$31,069,230
5th
Tommy Fleetwood
$25,488,218
6th
Russell Henley
$20,861,570
7th
JJ Spaun
$19,110,720
8th
Sepp Straka
$17,641,244
9th
Bryson DeChambeau
$17,085,877
10th
Ben Griffin
$16,666,165
