Top-10 Best PGA Tour Seasons In Terms Of Prize Money & Official Earnings

Top-10 Best PGA Tour Seasons In Terms Of Prize Money & Official Earnings

In 2022, Scottie Scheffler set the record by earning the most money ever in a single PGA Tour campaign at $14.05 million. However, that record might soon be broken. Both Scheffler and Jon Rahm are on pace to set eclipse that mark by a wide margin this year. With PGA Tour purses on the rise, we’ll take a look back at the top-10 PGA Tour seasons in terms of prize money and official earnings.

There’s a lot of money to be won on the PGA Tour.

Players have been winning millions of dollars on the golf course for decades, but in recent years, prize money has skyrocketed, especially since the Tour’s recent rivalry with LIV Golf.

Today, there’s more money to win on the PGA Tour than ever before.

For the 2023 season, the PGA Tour has increased purses by 78 percent for designated events. In fact, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler are on course to break the record for the most official money earned in a single season, a mark that Scheffler himself originally set in 2022.

Tiger Woods had four seasons (2005-2007, 2009) where he fell in the top-10 but surprisingly none of those landed him in the top-5. Although he isn’t at the top of the list, Woods earned over $41.9 million in those four seasons on the Tour.

Scroll down below for the top 11 most official money earned in a single-season list.

  1. Scottie Scheffler — $14,046,910 (2022)
  2. Jon Rahm — $13,623,540 (2023)
  3. Scottie Scheffler — $12,508,495 (2023)
  4. Jordan Spieth — $12,030,465 (2015)
  5. Vijay Singh — $10,905,166 (2004)
  6. Tiger Woods — $10,867,052 (2007)
  7. Tiger Woods — $10,628,024 (2005)
  8. Tiger Woods — $10,545,465 (2009)
  9. Tiger Woods — $9,941,563 (2006)
  10. Justin Thomas — $9,921,560 (2016)
  11. Cameron Smith — $9,847,000 (2021)

Most Official Money Earned in a Single Season

Since the PGA Tour introduced designated events this year, players are on track to earn more official money than ever before. Winning just one of the designated events could earn a player as much as $3.6 million, a figure that was unheard of, even in a major championship.

As the purses increase, the all-time money list will be constantly changing. This year, both Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm are on track to break Scheffler’s single season earnings record of $14,046,901, set in 2022.

Below we’ll go over the most official money earned in a single season on the PGA Tour.

1. Scottie Scheffler — $14,046,910 (2022)

Scottie Scheffler’s record is set to be broken this year by either himself or Jon Rahm.

Despite not having any elevated events in 2022, Scheffler put together some remarkable performances last year. He won three PGA Tour events, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Dell Match Play, and Phoenix Open.

In 2022, he also won his first Green Jacket. His official money earnings totaled $14,046,910, which is the most money any player has earned on the PGA Tour to date.

2. Jon Rahm — $13,623,540 (2023)

After winning his first Green Jacket, Jon Rahm surpassed Scheffler as the player with the most official money earned this season. While the two have been neck and neck all year, there is still plenty more golf to determine the leader.

Rahm started off the year with two wins at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the American Express. Other than two outlier performances at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Dell Match Play, Rahm hasn’t posted anything lower than a T15 finish this year.

So far in 2023, he has won three elevated events, including the Masters, Genesis Invitational, and Sentry Tournament of Champions.

3. Scottie Scheffler — $12,508,495 (2023)

The PGA Tour campaign is just getting started but Scheffler is already on pace to surpass his his record-setting earnings season from a year ago. With the help of elevated purses, Scheffler has already won $12,508,840 in just 13 events this season.

Scheffler has yet to miss a cut and has already won two elevated events at the WM Phoenix Open and Players Championship. His worst record this season is a T12 at the Genesis Invitational.

With more than half of the season left to play, Scheffler is just $1.5 million shy of the all-time record that he set in 2022.

4. Jordan Spieth — $12,030,465 (2015)

At the age of 22, Jordan Spieth had his best career year on the Tour, winning the US Open, Masters, and FedEx Cup in just one year. He became the youngest PGA Tour Player of the Year since Tiger Woods in 1997. In addition to winning two major championships, Spieth also captured the Valspar Championship and John Deere Classic.

5. Vijay Singh — $10,905,166 (2004)

Vijay Singh had his best career earnings in a single season at the age of 41. In 2004, Singh won the PGA Championship and eight other PGA Tour events, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Shell Houston Open, and HP Classic of New Orleans.

It was one of his best seasons; Singh made 28-of-29 cuts with 18 top-10s and 24 top-24. He went on to win the PGA Tour Player of the Year for his fantastic season. In total, his official money for the 2004 season was $10,905,166.

6. Tiger Woods — $10,867,052 (2007)

Riding high off his unbelievable winning streak in 2006, Woods was red hot to begin the 2007 season. He started the season off by winning the Buick Invitational for the seventh time in his career.

Woods had seven wins on the Tour that year, including the PGA Championship, BMW Championship, and CA World Golf Championship, to name a few. He also was the runner-up at the Masters and US Open that year. It was one of his more successful earning seasons, racking up $10,867,166.

7. Tiger Woods —$10,628,024 (2005)

It was one of Woods’ most memorable years. In 2005, he won his fourth Green Jacket by delivering one of the most memorable shots in his career. He also won the Open Championship. He placed within the top 4 at the rest of the majors, including second at the US Open and fourth at the PGA Championship. Along with his major championships, Woods won six times on the PGA Tour in 2005.

8. Tiger Woods — $10,545,465 (2009)

Woods missed the first half of the season due to knee surgery. When he came back, there were glimpses of his game, but it was the first time since 2004 that he did not win a Major Championship. He came up short at the PGA Championship, losing to Y.E Yang. However, Woods was able to tally seven wins. That season, he only missed one cut and had no worse performance than a T17 at the World Golf Championships.

9. Tiger Woods — $9,941,563 (2006)

In 2006, Tiger Woods had an incredibly hot season. He had nine victories, including six straight after winning the Open Championship. It was one of the most historic runs in golf. Woods won every event that year and was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year for the eighth time. He was the money winner and awarded the Byron Nelson Award for the seventh time.

10. Justin Thomas — $9,921,560 (2017)

Justin Thomas’ most successful year came in the 2016-2017 season. He was named PGA Tour Player of the Year after posting five victories, including the PGA Championship and the FedEx Cup at the age of 24.

In addition to his wins, Thomas added 12 top-10 finishes, including a T9 at the US Open. At the Sony Open, he shot a 59, becoming the youngest player ever to break 60. It was a special year for Thomas as he also joined Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Jordan Spieth as the only players since 1960 to win five times in a season, including a major championship.

11. Cameron Smith — $9,847,000 (2022)

Before signing to LIV Golf, Cameron Smith had his best season on the PGA Tour in 2022. He had two major wins that vaulted him to the No.3 Official World Golf Rankings in the world, including the Open Championship and the Players Championship.

His two wins not only guaranteed him $6.1 million in official money, but they also helped him secure invitations to major championships in the upcoming years while playing in the LIV Golf League.


Golf Betting Guides 2024


Arrow to top