Golf is a very lucrative profession, and we all know that the best golfers in the world are very rich. But how rich are they and who are the richest golfers of them all?
In this article, we are going to talk about the 31 wealthiest golf players in history and share details about their career earnings, sponsorship deals, and net worth figures.
How much do professional golfers make? Who is the richest and how much is Tiger Woods’ net worth?
We are going to try to answer these and many other questions relating to the world’s highest-paid golfers. Enjoy!
Richest golfers:
1. Tiger Woods
(sources: Celebrity Net Worth, Heavy.com)
- Age: 44
- Majors won: 15
- PGA Tour titles: 82
- Net worth: $800 million
So, let’s dive right in: Who is the richest golfer in the world? Unsurprisingly, Tiger Woods takes the first spot on our list. He is arguably the greatest golfer in the history of this sport, has also made more money than everybody else in the game.
So, how much is Tiger Woods worth? The straightforward answer is approximately $800 million, while his yearly salary is around $50 million. He has been a pro golfer since 1996 and has accumulated $1.5 billion in career earnings. Naturally, Woods made a lot of money off-course as well, thanks to a lot of endorsement deals from companies like Nike, TaylorMade, and Bridgestone.
It’s interesting to note that Tiger’s caddy Joe LaCava is considered to be one of the richest in the world. So, how much does Tiger Woods caddy make? He usually earns a percentage of what the golfer makes on top of his base salary. It is estimated that LaCava made around $400,000 in bonus money just last year.
2. Arnold Palmer
(sources: CBC Canada)
- Age: 87 (died in 2016)
- Majors won: 7
- PGA Tour titles: 62
- Net worth: $700 million
Our list of the richest golfers of all time continues with Arnold Palmer who was a very successful golfer back in the day, but he also made a lot of money from being a successful entrepreneur, architect, and designer. If you adjust the inflation rates, Palmer earned more than $1.3 billion from endorsements only. At $700 million, he’s just below the net worth of Tiger Woods.
He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and he only officially retired in 2006, at 77 years old.
3. Greg Norman
(sources: PGA Tour)
- Age: 65
- Majors won: 2
- PGA Tour titles: 20
- Net worth: $400 million
With 89 professional victories and numerous other accolades, Greg Norman is one of the best golfers from Australia and one of the highest paid golfers of all time. His peak came in the late 80s and early 90s when he won both of his majors and the majority of his PGA titles.
Greg Norman is still not officially retired, and his net worth of $400 million makes him one of the richest pro golfers today. He was one of the first to break the $10 million mark in career earnings, and his total career earnings are around $15 million.
4. Phil Mickelson
(sources: PGA Tour)
- Age: 49
- Majors won: 5
- PGA Tour titles: 44
- Net worth: $400 million
Phil Mickelson is one of the best modern-era golfers alongside Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. He joined the PGA Tour in 1992 and has since racked up 44 titles, making him the ninth on the all-time list.
Also known as “Lefty”, Phil Mickelson‘s career earnings come in at around $91 million in total prize money. However, he earned a lot more from sponsorships and endorsements — over $700 million. Phil Mickelson’s net worth is measured at around $400 million today.
5. Jack Nicklaus
(sources: World Golf Hall of Fame)
- Age: 80
- Majors won: 18
- PGA Tour titles: 73
- Net worth: $320 million
Jack Nicklaus’ stats speak for themselves. He won 18 majors (1st all-time) and collected 73 PGA Tour victories (3rd all-time). All of this success has made him quite rich, and despite him being 80 years old, The Golden Bear is one of the richest golfers ever.
Jack was included into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974, and his current net worth is around $320 million.
6. Gary Player
(sources: Wealthy Gorilla)
- Age: 84
- Majors won: 9
- PGA Tour titles: 24
- Net worth: $250 million
Gary Player is one of the most respected golfers of all time, even if he’s not the richest golfer in the world. Apart from his golfing accolades, Gary has received the Decoration of Meritorious Services and the Order of Ikhamanga from his home country of South Africa for various achievements on and off the golf course.
He has also earned plenty of money throughout his career, securing the sixth spot on our list. Player won all four majors at least once in his career and added 24 PGA Tour titles to his total of 163 career wins. Gary Player’s net worth is around $250 million.
7. Rory McIlroy
(sources: Celebrity Net Worth)
- Age: 30
- Majors won: 4
- PGA Tour titles: 18
- Net worth: $150 million
Rory McIlroy is one of the youngest golfers on this list, meaning that his stats and net worth figures are expected to improve over the next few years or decades. Rory McIlroy’s net worth is already $150 million and he has so far won over $50 million in career earnings.
Just in the last two years, Rory has accumulated more than $40 million from salaries and various endorsement deals.
8. Fred Couples
(sources: Celebrity Net Worth)
- Age: 60
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 15
- Net worth: $120 million
Fred Couples might have won only one major (Masters in 1992), but he is still one of the highest paid golfers of all time thanks to 51 career wins and multiple endorsement deals. Apart from his golfing career, Fred has spent a lot of time designing and building golf courses around the United States. His current net worth is around $120 million.
9. Jordan Spieth
(sources: The Guardian)
- Age: 26
- Majors won: 3
- PGA Tour titles: 11
- Net worth: $100 million
Jordan Spieth is one of the most talented golfers today. He is only 26 years old but has already established himself in the conversation of golf greats by winning three major titles in the last five years.
2015 was arguably his best year, having seen him win the US Open, break the 36-hole record at The Masters, and claim the title there as well. Jordan Spieth’s net worth is $100 million.
10. Ernie Els
(source: PGA Tour)
- Age: 50
- Majors won: 4
- PGA Tour titles: 19
- Net worth: $85 million
Ernie Els, nicknamed the Big Easy thanks to his easy-going swing, has made a name for himself by winning two Open Championships and two US Open majors. He is one of the rare players that has won a major after being introduced to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.
He is 11th all-time on the PGA career money list with just under $50 million in earnings, and his net worth is $85 million at the moment.
11. Vijay Singh
(sources: ESPN)
- Age: 57
- Majors won: 3
- PGA Tour titles: 34
- Net worth: $75 million
Fiji is not exactly a golfing nation, but they did produce one of the greatest and richest golfers of all time. Vijay Singh won three majors, the last of which was the PGA Championship in 2004. That was by far his best year, with him winning multiple awards by the golfing community.
He was the PGA Tour leading money leader on three separate occasions and he is fourth all-time when it comes to total career earnings with over $71 million. His net worth is currently $75 million.
(image source: PGA Tour)
12. Sergio Garcia
(sources: Golf Channel)
- Age: 40
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 10
- Net worth: $70 million
Sergio Garcia is one of the best Spanish golfers in history and he made quite the name for himself in the last several years on the tour. Although he became a professional back in 1999, Garcia has won his first and only major in 2017 (The Masters). He was also named the European Tour Golfer of the Year then.
Sergio Garcia is 10th all-time in career earnings with just over $50 million, and his net worth totals over $70 million.
13. Ian Poulter
(sources: Golf Digest)
- Age: 44
- Majors won: 0
- PGA Tour titles: 3
- Net worth: $60 million
Ian Poulter made most of his success on the European tour where he collected 12 of his total 17 professional wins. He has earned around $40 million in his career, while his net worth is close to $60 million.
Apart from golf, his hobby is collecting cars. His collection includes plenty of Porsche and Ferrari models, among others. He is currently 56th in total career earnings on the PGA Tour.
14. Jim Furyk
(sources: PGA Tour)
- Age: 49
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 26
- Net worth: $60 million
Jim Furyk earns his spot on the list of top 31 richest golfers thanks to his successful career as well as many lucrative sponsorships. He reached his peak between 1998 and 2003 when he won at least one PGA tournament in each of those seasons.
However, the pinnacle of his career came at the 2003 US Open, which is the only major that he managed to win. Mike Cowan, a former Tiger Woods’ caddy, has been with Furyk since 1999, and he is also one of the richest golf caddies in history. Jim Furyk, whose net worth stands at $60 million, meanwhile is the third highest paid golf player on the PGA Tour all-time money list with over $71 million in career earnings.
15. Nick Faldo
(sources: Golf Channel)
- Age: 62
- Majors won: 6
- PGA Tour titles: 9
- Net worth: $60 million
Nick Faldo was one of the most dominant golfers in the late 80s and early 90s. He won The Masters and Open Championship three times each in that period. Today, he works as a broadcaster and analyst.
Faldo spent 97 weeks as the world number one, while also collecting 40 wins in his pro career. His net worth in 2020 is at around $60 million.
16. Adam Scott
(sources: Golf.com)
- Age: 39
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 14
- Net worth: $50 million
With over $50 million in career prize money, Adam Scott is one of Australia’s most successful golfers. He is most known for winning the Masters title in 2013 and being the number one player in the world for 11 weeks in 2014.
Adam Scott is currently playing on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour of Australia. His net worth is $50 million at the moment.
17. Davis Love III
(sources: Celebrity Net Worth)
- Age: 55
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 21
- Net worth: $50 million
Davis Love III followed in the footsteps of his father Davis Love Jr. and became a very successful golfer himself. Although he was never ranked first in the world, Love racked 37 professional wins throughout his career, 21 of which came on the PGA Tour.
However, the highlight of his career was winning the 1997 PGA Championship, the only major that he was able to win. His current net worth is measured at $50 million.
18. Pete Dye
(sources: Golf Digest)
- Age: 94 (died in 2020)
- Majors won: n/a
- PGA titles: n/a
- Net worth: $50 million
Paul Dye Jr, also known as Pete Dye in the golfing circles was a famous American golfer and golf course designer. Over the course of his long life, Pete was the architect of many golf courses throughout the United States, including the Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indiana which hosted the PGA Championship in 1991.
Apart from his successful career, Pete Dye was also an Army veteran, serving in the US Army during World War II between 1942 and 1944. He passed away in 2020 at the age of 94.
19. Annika Sorenstam
(sources: World Golf Hall of Fame)
- Age: 49
- Majors won: 10
- LPGA Tour titles: 72
- Net worth: $40 million
Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam is one of the most successful female golfers of all time, and the only woman on our list of highest paid golfers in the world. She became a pro in 1992 and retired in 2008, but she has managed to do a lot in just those 16 years.
Annika won 72 LPGA Tour titles (3rd all-time) and 10 LPGA majors, including a three-peat of the Women’s PGA C’ship between 2003 and 2005. Since 2003, she is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She was named LPGA Tour Money Winner eight times, and her current net worth is $40 million.
20. Graeme McDowell
(sources: NY Times)
- Age: 40
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 4
- Net worth: $40 million
Graeme McDowell is one of Northern Ireland’s best golfers. He plays mostly on the European Tour which accounts for 11 of his 16 professional wins. His most prominent victory came at the 2010 US Open where he became the first European player to win in 40 years.
McDowell is is a big Manchester United fan, and loves this football club so much that he has skipped some tournaments to watch the matches live. His net worth in 2020 is around $40 million.
21. Jason Day
(sources: Business Insider)
- Age: 32
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 12
- Net worth: $40 million
Jason Day is one of the most talented Australian golfers. He broke in the top 10 rankings in 2011 when he was just 24 years old. Jason’s biggest success came at the 2015 PGA Championship where he claimed what is so far his only major title. Later that year, he became the world number one for the first time in his career.
Jaydee, as he is also called, signed a sponsorship deal with Nike in 2016 that earns him around $10 million every year. His current net worth is $40 million.
22. Justin Rose
(sources: Olympic)
- Age: 39
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 10
- Net worth: $40 million
Justin Rose is a very successful English golfer who plays on the PGA and European tours. His two biggest career highlights are winning the US Open in 2013 and the gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
With career earnings of over $50 million, Justin is one of Europe’s richest pro golfers. At the time of writing, his net worth is at around $40 million.
23. Lee Trevino
(sources: World Golf Hall of Fame)
- Age: 80
- Majors won: 6
- PGA Tour titles: 29
- Net worth: $40 million
Lee Trevino is a legend among Mexican-Americans as he is one of the top golfers of Mexican origin. Most of his success came in the 1970s when he won four of his six majors and was one the most prominent PGA Tour money leaders.
Trevino is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame since 1981 and was named PGA Player of the Year in 1971. Lee Trevino’s net worth is around $40 million at the moment.
24. Lee Westwood
(sources: Telegraph)
- Age: 46
- Majors won: 0
- PGA Tour titles: 2
- Net worth: $40 million
Lee Westwood is another English entry in our golf money list. The majority of his wins came in the European Tour (25) where he is tied for 8th all-time. He only won two PGA tour titles, and although he made six top-3 finishes in majors, he never won a major title in his career.
In 2010, Westwood became the world number one player, ending Tiger Woods’ reign. His net worth is $40 million.
25. Luke Donald
(sources: Celebrity Net Worth)
- Age: 42
- Majors won: 0
- PGA Tour titles: 5
- Net worth: $40 million
Luke Donald is an English pro golfer that sat at the throne of world golf rankings for 56 weeks in 2011 and 2012. Although he never came close to winning a major, Donald recorded a lot of wins on the PGA and European tours. He was the top 10 player for over 200 weeks in his career.
Luke Donald accumulated the majority of his wealth during the last decade. His current net worth is $40 million.
26. Padraig Harrington
(sources: Special Olympics)
- Age: 48
- Majors won: 3
- PGA Tour titles: 6
- Net worth: $40 million
Padraig “Paddy” Harrington was one of the most dominant golf players in 2007 and 2008. During this period, he won all three of his majors, including one PGA Championship and two Open Championships. Almost half of his wins came on the European Tour, but he also won six PGA Tour titles.
Harrington used his golf celebrity status to become the global Special Olympics ambassador and build numerous golf clinics for players with mental disabilities. His net worth in 2020 is $40 million.
27. David Toms
(sources: Golf Channel)
- Age: 53
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 13
- Net worth: $35 million
David Toms is an American golfer who is best known for winning the PGA Championship in 2001. He has also had continuous success on the PGA Tour, claiming 13 out of total 18 career wins.
In 2011, Toms was awarded the Payne Stewart Award for golf sportsmanship due to his humble nature and respect for the sport. His net worth is roughly $35 million.
28. Bubba Watson
(sources: ESPN)
- Age: 41
- Majors won: 2
- PGA Tour titles: 12
- Net worth: $30 million
Gerry Lester Watson, mostly known by his nickname Bubba, is a successful American golfer who broke into the world golfing scene by winning the 2012 Masters Tournament in Georgia. He won the title again in 2014, adding it to the 12 PGA Tour titles over the course of his career.
Already in his first pro year (2003), Watson made over one million dollars, and he has around $25 won in total so far. Apart from his professional golf salary, Bubba Watson earns roughly $4 million from endorsements every year. His net worth is $30 million.
29. Darren Clarke
(sources: The Guardian)
- Age: 51
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 3
- Net worth: $30 million
Darren Clarke is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who has been collecting titles at the European Tour since 1993. He also has three PGA Tour titles and recorded one major win at The Open Championship in 2011 when he was 42 years old.
Clarke has had a steady and successful golfing career, and although he never managed to go past the eighth spot in the world rankings, he has been lingering in the top 20 for most of his career. His current net worth is $30 million.
30. Hunter Mahan
(sources: Telegraph)
- Age: 37
- Majors won: 0
- PGA Tour titles: 6
- Net worth: $30 million
Hunter Mahan earned most of his professional golf player salary on the PGA Tour where he has claimed six titles so far in his career. He didn’t have that much luck on majors. His best result so far was fourth place at the 2013 US Open.
Apart from golfing, Hunter Mahan is a member of several charity organizations. His net worth is around $30 million.
31. Justin Thomas
(sources: PGA Tour)
- Age: 26
- Majors won: 1
- PGA Tour titles: 12
- Net worth: $30 million
Justin Thomas is one of the biggest rising stars of professional golf. He has won 12 PGA Tour titles, but his biggest achievement was winning the 2017 PGA Championship. He was the PGA Tour leading money winner in both 2017 and 2018 and won the PGA Player of the Year award in 2017.
Justin Thomas’ net worth is $30 million.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our list of the 31 richest golfers in the world. Of course, with the prizes for winning golf tournaments rising, this list will change in the future and include many young golfers who are just stepping onto the scene.
Sources
1. Celebrity Net Worth
2. Heavy.com
3. CBC Canada
4. PGA Tour
5. PGA Tour
6. World Golf Hall of Fame
7. Wealthy Gorilla
8. Celebrity Net Worth
9. Celebrity Net Worth
10. The Guardian
11. PGA Tour
12. ESPN
13. Golf Channel
14. Golf Digest
15. PGA Tour
16. Golf Channel
17. Golf.com
18. Celebrity Net Worth
19. Golf Digest
20. World Golf Hall of Fame
21. NY Times
22. Business Insider
23. Olympic
24. World Golf Hall of Fame
25. Telegraph
26. Celebrity Net Worth
27. Special Olympics
28. Golf Channel
29. ESPN
30. The Guardian
31. Telegraph
32. PGA Tour
