Some PGA golfers have earned eight-figure sums without winning a single event (Image: Getty)
For the stars of golf such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, winning £10million may be possible just by turning up at two or three events. Of course, as multiple Major winners, the pair have earned that right to take home the big bucks on the PGA Tour.
But in the case of some of their peers, there are some golfers running under the radar who have earned over £10 million in their PGA Tour careers, despite never winning a tour event.
Maverick McNealy became the latest to end his run without a tour win at the RSM Classic, having failed to in his previous 140 starts. But there are still 10 players out there earning eight-figure sums without tasting success in the PGA Tour.
Express Sport looks at their respective careers and earnings so far.
Jeff Overton: £10.2m ($12.8m)
Overton’s stellar year in 2010 helped to bankroll his earnings. He finished the season with three runner-up finishes and a pair of thirds, leading to nearly £2.8m in earnings.
He came close in 2007 at the Wyndham Championship when she shot a final-round 70 and ended up two short of Brandt Snedeker on the leaderboard.
At the same tournament in 2010, he finished two shots behind Jason Day to extend his winless run. Nevertheless, the American, now 41, has been well compensated for his efforts.
Jeff Overton is still without a win some 15 years into his career (Image: Getty)
Briny Baird: £10.5m ($13.3m)
In his 15 years on the PGA Tour, Baird lined up on the tee 379 times but never experienced that elusive winning feeling.
Alas, he finished second on six separate occasions, most recently at the 2013 McGladrey Classic before injury curtailed his career.
The closest he came to ending his long wait for victory came at the 2011 Frys.com Open where he went six extra holes in a playoff with Bryce Molder, before his rival sunk a birdie to win it.
But Baird focused on the big picture, telling CNN afterwards: “I would rather be the guy who has won the most money without a victory than the guy who has won the least money! A stat is only as bad as you want it to be.”
Briny Baird is another veteran without a triumph to his name (Image: Getty)
Brian Davis: £10.6m ($13.4m)
In his decade-long association with golf, Davis was a regular fixture on the PGA Tour and made 34 starts in 2008.
He was second on five occasions, which all came between 2007 and 2010. His most memorable effort came at the 2010 Verizon Heritage, taking Jim Furyk to the 18th hole for a playoff.
However, he was penalised with a two-shot penalty for hitting one of the reeds and handed Furyk an easy win in the end.
The Englishman, now 50, may have some regrets about how his professionalism ultimately cost him a chance to add to his trophy cabinet, although his burgeoning wallet may make him feel better.
Patrick Rodgers: £12.5m ($15.7m)
The man who once matched Woods’ collection of 11 titles at Stanford is yet to taste victory on the PGA Tour. Having made frequent appearances on the leaderboard early in his career, Rodgers has over 50 top-25 finishes in his career to top up his career earnings.
He tied for second with Webb Simpson at the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship in 2015, with McIlroy winning the tournament overall, and finished as the unlucky loser to Bryson DeChambeau at the 2017 John Deere Classic.
Rodgers also missed out at the RSM Classic in 2018 to Charles Howell III, but the evidence suggests his time may still arrive.
Patrick Rodgers has time on his side to end his winless run (Image: Getty)
Cameron Young £12.7m ($16m)
The former rookie of the year once came second at The Open at St Andrews, earning him plaudits from pundits and players around golf, and he registered four more second-place finishes during the 2021-22 campaign.
At the Valspar Championship in March 2024, Young grabbed his seventh career runner-up finish, the most of anyone who hasn’t also won on tour since 1983.
He clearly has the ability to win, having posted a sub-60 round at the Travelers Championship in July – becoming only the 13th player in PGA Tour history to do so. It hasn’t happened yet, but the American is only 27 and has time on his side.
Alex Noren: £12.8m ($16.2m)
Unlike some of his PGA Tour pals, Noren has experienced success in his career as a 10-time winner on the DP World Tour.
It’s been tougher going at PGA events though, and his nerves have appeared at the worst time possible.
Twice he led going into the final round only to be caught at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in 2023 and the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open, where he shot a closing 73 at Torrey Pines South before losing a three-man playoff with Jason Day and Ryan Palmer.
Cameron Tringale moved onto LIV Golf after failing to win a PGA event (Image: Getty)
Cameron Tringale: £13.8m ($17.3m)
From 2021 to 2023, no golfer had earned more money without winning a PGA Tour event than Tringale. Thankfully, that title has been taken away from him.
After 338 career appearances at PGA events, he opted to join the breakaway LIV Golf movement in 2022, thus ending his chances of a PGA swansong. He did, however, take home over a lucrative £2.5m in earnings from the 2021-22 campaign.
Tringale, 37, came closest to ending his wait at the 2021 Zozo Championshp when he was one stroke off the lead, only to shoot a closing round of 69 to tie him for second.
Denny McCarthy: £13.9m ($17.5m)
Since earning his PGA Tour card ahead of the 2017-18 season, McCarthy has been classed as an expert putter and has amassed a small fortune as a result. He made the playoffs at the FedEx Cup in each of the last four seasons and his runner-up finish at the 2023 Memorial pushed him towards eight figures.
He came closest at Muirfield Village, where McCarthy had a one-shot advantage standing on the 72nd hole. But he missed the fairway off the tee and couldn’t convert on a 22ft shot for par, eventually losing the playoff to Viktor Hovland.
The 31-year-old also shot an impressive 63 at the Valero Texas open, putting him into a playoff with Akshay Bhatia. But a penalty for landing his ball into the water cost him a chance of a first win.
Byeong Hun An has won on the DP World Tour (Image: Getty)
Byeong Hun An: £15m ($18.9m)
An shot to fame when he became the youngest U.S Amateur winner in history as a 17-year-old at Southern Hills back in 2009.
After losing his PGA Tour card in 2021, he came back in style to finish second at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January 2024. It was the second time he had lost in a three-man playoff, having also lost out to DeChambeau at the 2019 Memorial.
An does have a notable win on the DP World Tour, having claimed the title in the BMW PGA Championship in 2015. He also won again in October 2024 at the Genesis Championship in South Korea, but that wait for an elusive PGA title goes on.
Tommy Fleetwood £19.8m ($24.9m)
A seven-time DP World Tour winner, Fleetwood’s most recent success came at the 2024 Dubai Invitational. But on the PGA Tour, he finished as a runner-up in two majors and five events overall, only missing the cut 21 times.
The Englishman will have some regrets about his failure to get over the line, especially at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, Fleetwood had a putt to win in it in normal time and two putts to win in a playoff, only to miss them all and fall at the fourth extra hole.
His loss to Nick Taylor in the playoff resulted in Fleetwood taking over as the all-time leading money winner without a tour title – and by some margin.
