Being a sport that royals, businessmen, and politicians enjoy watching and playing, golf has a reputation of being a sport of the wealthy. But how much wealth do actual professional golfers earn?
Let’s count down the richest golfers in the history of the game.
1. Tiger Woods
This 46-year-old American golfer is the richest golfer in the world. Famous for both an amazing golfing career as well as his private life scandals, Tiger Woods has reached a net worth of an amazing $800 million. Currently earning a yearly salary of around $50 million a year, Woods has managed to earn close to $121 million from his wins during his 26-year-long career.
When it comes to his greatest career achievements, Tiger Woods has won 15 major championships (right behind Jack Nicklaus, who won 18 majors), 82 PGA Tour wins (tied with Sam Snead), and has been awarded the PGA Player of the Year Award 11 times. Woods is also the youngest player to have achieved a career Grand Slam, which he has managed to do three times so far.
2. Arnold Palmer
Another legendary American golf player, Arnold Palmer was one of the players that made “The Big Three” in the world of golfing, alongside Nicklaus and Player. The three of them managed to lead golf to worldwide popularity and expansion outside the USA borders. Palmer was the first man in golf history to reach $1 million in career earnings. Before he died in 2016, Palmer reached a net worth of $700 million, becoming one of the richest golfers of all time.
Arnold Palmer’s career lasted for more than six decades, during which he managed to win 7 major championships and 62 PGA Tour wins. He was named PGA Player of the Year two times, and was first on the list of PGA Tour Money Leaders four times.
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3. Greg Norman
Greg Norman is a retired golf player from Australia. Aged 66, this golfer turned entrepreneur once held the #1 title for over 330 weeks and was considered the best of his time. He may be a retired golfer, but he still manages to earn money from it as a designer of golf courses. He has a net worth of around $400 million, which makes him one of the richest golfers of all time.
Greg Norman has a total of 20 PGA Tour wins, and he won two major championships. He was awarded 5 Bryan Nelson Awards and was named PGA Tour Player of the Year once, in 1995.
4. Phil Mickelson
Yet another American golfer on our top 10 richest golfers list, 51-year-old Mickelson is one of the few in history who have won three out of the four total majors. Earning a salary of around $50 million a year, Mickelson’s total net worth is over $400 million, with over $94 million in career earnings.
Still active in the world of golf, Mickelson has 45 PGA Tour wins and has won major championships six times. Winning the 2021 PGA Championship, Phil Mickelson has become the oldest major championship winner in history.
5. Jack Nicklaus
Retired in 2005, this 82-year-old American professional golfer is widely known as one of “The Big Three”, along with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. He has a net worth of $400 million dollars, and his career earnings amount to over $9 million, which makes him one of the richest golfers of all time.
Having 73 PGA Tour wins, Jack Nicklaus is third on the list of players with the most PGA Tour wins, right behind Tiger Woods and Sam Snead, who are tied with 82 wins. Nicklaus also managed to win a record 18 major championships and five PGA Player of the Year awards. He was also named the PGA Tour Leading Money Winner eight times and achieved a career grand slam three times.
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6. Gary Player
One of the most famous golfing celebrities, this retired South African golf player is the part of golfs’ “The Big Three”. Aged 86, Player earned over $12 million from his golfing career, and has a net worth of around $250 million.
Before retiring in 2009, Gary Player had a long professional career of over five decades, during which he snagged 24 PGA Tour victories, and won nine titles at major championships. In 1961, he was named the PGA Tour Leading Money Winner.
7. Rory McIlroy
One of the youngest on our list of richest golfers in the world, this 32-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland has a net worth of around $150 million, and has earned over $59 million from his golfing career. McIlroy managed to earn over $11 million at the age of only 22 just from playing golf, while his current yearly salary is somewhere between $40-$50 million.
During his decade-long career, McIlroy has scored 20 PGA Tour and four major championship wins. He has been named the PGA Tour Player of the Year three times so far, and is seen as one of the most promising golfers ever, with golfing critics estimating him to earn around $400 million by the age of 50.
8. Fred Couples
Still actively playing golf at the age of 62, the fifth American on our top 10 richest golfers list has a net worth of around $120 million. Throughout his four-decade-long career, Fred Couples has earned over $35 million from playing golf.
When it comes to his achievements as a professional golfer, Couples has a total of 15 PGA Tour wins, has won two major championships, and has been named the PGA Tour Player of the Year twice. He has also won two Byron Nelson awards.
9. Jordan Spieth
The youngest and the last American on our richest golfers in the world list, Spieth has had an amazing golfing career so far. Aged only 28, he has a net worth of around $110 million, and has earned over $49 million from playing golf.
When it comes to his achievements, Spieth has snagged 12 PGA Tour wins so far, and has won three major championships. He was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2015, and is a two-time winner of the Byron Nelson award.
10. Ernie Els
The former #1 golf club and the last golfer on our richest golfers in the world list initially picked tennis as his sport, but opted for golf at the age of 12. Aged 52, this South African golfer has a net worth of around $85 million, with $52 million in career earnings. Aside from playing golf, Els also reports income on his wine and golf course designing businesses.
Ernie Els started playing professional golf as soon as he turned 18, and so far has scored 19 PGA Tour victories and has won four major championships.
Hitting the 19th Hole
Successful in the sport and coming from all around the world, these professionals have followed their passion which turned them into the richest golfers that ever lived. As you can see with these ten richest golfers in the world, many of them have acquired wealth not only by playing golf, but also from business ventures and endorsements. Using these ten golfers as an example, we may conclude that golfers truly are some of the richest athletes in the world.