These 5 Golfers Won the Most Prize Money on the PGA Tour in 2021–22

The landscape of professional golf changed dramatically during the 2021–22 season in large part due to the emergence of LIV Golf, a new league in competition with the PGA Tour and funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

Many of the top golfers on the PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, jumped ship to LIV at the promise of more money and fewer events. In fact, LIV spent almost $800 million to recruit players in 2022. As a result, the PGA Tour began increasing tournament prize pools and offering additional bonuses in the Player Impact Program (PIP) and FedEx Cup.

Sixty-four PGA Tour players made at least $2 million in tournament prize money alone during the 2021–22 season. Seventeen golfers, including Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm, earned at least $5 million. Players also earned additional money through the PIP, FedEx Cup, and DP World Tour.

The following is a look at the top five earners strictly in tournament winnings on the PGA Tour in 2021–22.

1. Scottie Scheffler ($14 Million)

Despite not winning a single tournament in his young career before the 2021–22 season, Scottie Scheffler made $4 million more than the second-highest earner on the PGA Tour. The University of Texas alumnus had eight top-10 finishes in 2020–21, including a career-best second-place result at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. He won a Tour-best four events in 2021–22, however, including the Masters Tournament.

Scheffler finished the season with $14 million in prize money and had 11 top-10 finishes. He also made $5.75 million in the FedEx Cup and $5.5 million through the PIP for a combined $25.9 million in earnings. Scheffler, a former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, was named PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2021–22 in a vote involving fellow Tour members. He’s also a past winner of the Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year and is the only golfer to win all three of the aforementioned awards.

2. Cameron Smith ($10.1 Million)

Cameron Smith arguably had a more impressive season than Scheffler but was never a serious threat to win PGA Tour Player of the Year given that he defected to LIV Golf after winning the Open Championship.

“The players who participated in the Player of the Year voting cast ballots with their wallets, of course,” commented Golf Digest writer Michael Bamberger. “At least some of them did. I say that because that’s a natural impulse, to vote [in] your self-interest. LIV is a threat to the PGA Tour. That makes Smith, likable bloke though he is, a threat to the PGA Tour. No chance he was going to win this thing.”

Regardless, Smith had a career-best year in his final season on the PGA Tour. In addition to winning the Open, he won the Players Championship, which is largely viewed as golf’s fifth major, and the Tournament of Champions. He earned an additional $7.4 million from winning LIV Golf’s Chicago Invitational and finishing second in the Team Championship finale.

3. Will Zalatoris ($9.4 Million)

A 26-year-old native of San Francisco, California, Will Zalatoris only won one event in 2021–22 but had nine top-10 finishes and ended the season with $9.4 million in prize money. Zalatoris was runner-up at both the US Open and PGA Championship and had two playoff defeats before finally winning the first tournament of his career at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Zalatoris, who won PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2020–21, shot a 4-under 66 in the final round of the St. Jude event to enter a playoff with veteran Sepp Straka. He won the playoff with a bogey on the third playoff hole. Zalatoris also earned $5 million from the PIP and $500,000 in the FedEx Cup.

4. Patrick Cantlay ($9.4 Million)

Patrick Cantlay earned slightly less than Zalatoris in tournament prize money but was a two-time winner on the 2021–22 PGA Tour. He defended his title at the BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup Playoff event, and won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Xander Schauffele. He also finished tied for second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and had 12 top-10 finishes. Cantlay is now an eight-time winner and has earned more than $32 million in tournament prize money in his career.

5. Rory McIlroy ($8.7 million)

Although he finished fifth in total earnings from official PGA Tour events, Rory McIlroy made more money ($44.8 million) than any other golfer on the planet in 2021–22. A consistent golfer all season long, McIlroy won a pair of tournaments and only missed two cuts. He also had top-10 finishes at the Masters (where he was runner-up), Wells Fargo, PGA Championship, and US Open.

McIlroy earned an additional $18 million from winning the FedEx Cup and earned more than $2 million on the DP World Tour by winning the Race to Dubai. He also ranked second behind Tiger Woods with $12 million in PIP earnings.