2022 will be remembered as the year of the advent of LIV Golf on the stage of world professional golf. As we know, the League supported by the Saudi Sovereign Fund has invested large sums both for the player signing and the prize pools of the first season of the LIV Golf Invitational Series (from 2023 season renamed the LIV Golf League).
The PGA Tour, after strongly criticizing the Saudis’ choice to increase the amount of money in the world of professional golf, has reacted by increasing the prize pools of tournaments and the sums invested in collateral player reward programs.
The DP World Tour has also, however in a much more limited way, increased the prize pools. It is clear that the beneficiaries of this rain of dollars have been the players. And this fact is clearly perceptible from the money list of the season that has just ended.
Rory McIlroy, money
1. Rory McIlroy The undisputed ruler of 2022. He won the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup, as well as two PGA Tour victories (RBC Canadian Open and CJ Cup), as well as the Tour Championship. He finished second in the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program.
His season is worth $44.8 million: 10.6 million from PGA Tour tournament cashes
2.2 million from DP World Tour tournament cashes
18 million for winning the FedEx Cup
2 million for winning the Race to Dubai
12 million for the second position on the PIP
2.
Dustin Johnson $37.2 million entered DJ’s bank account in 2022. Of course, as the individual leaderboard winner of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, most of his income comes from there. To be precise, between individual and team victories, the prize pool he has accumulated is equal to 35.6 million dollars.
The remaining $1.6 million he earned early in the season on the PGA Tour, where he did not record any wins (his best result was fourth place in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, won by Scottie Scheffler). In the case of Johnson, as in that of all the other LIV players, the sums received by way of engagement have not been included in the count.
The choice is not homogeneous with respect to the case of McIlroy, where the sum that the Northern Irishman has collected from the PIP, which evaluates certain off-course performances, has instead been inserted. But it is a choice shared by other subjects who have drawn up classifications relating to the receipts of sportsmen, such as the Sportico portal.
3. Scottie Scheffler The reigning Masters Champion capped off an unforgettable season with an extra $25.9 million in his pocket. 4 PGA Tour victories, plus 10 top ten finishes, earned him $14.65 million in prize money. 5.75 instead came from FedEx, where he finished in third place.
The missing 5.5 million he collected through the Player Impact Program. 4. Cameron Smith The Australian champion has maintained a very high standard from the beginning to the end of his season, touring the world and professional tours far and wide.
He opened with winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions on the PGA Tour and closed with him winning the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, a DP World Tour co-sanctioned event, in his home country. A little bit of everything in between: winning The Players Championship, the Open Championship, moving to LIV Golf, where he won the Chicago stage.
All for a value of $18.4 million: $10.1 million on the PGA Tour, $240,000 on the DP World Tour, $640,000 from FedEx and $7.4 million on LIV Golf. These are the other players who complete the top ten of the money list: Branden Grace $17.5 million
Justin Thomas $17.1 million
Xander Schauffele $16.7 million
Tiger Woods $15.0 million
Will Zalaris $14.9 million
Jordan Spieth $14.8 million
