McIlroy, Scheffler could both top Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour earnings record this month
McIlroy, Scheffler could both top Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour earnings record this month
Jared Beilby, USA TODAYWed, August 12, 2026 at 5:16 PM UTC
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One of Tiger Woods’ records is set to fall. It’s just a matter of when.
Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler both boast career PGA Tour earnings of just more than $116 million, less than five million shy of Woods’ record total of $121 million.
McIlroy or Scheffler could reach the record by the end of the month.
USA TODAY compiled the historical year-by-year money totals of Woods, McIlroy and Scheffler to chart how they’ve reached their career totals — and the data reveals just how golf’s earnings picture has shifted in recent years.
It took both Woods and McIlroy 17 seasons to crack $100 million in career earnings. However, Scheffler did so in just nine seasons, with the bulk from just the past three years.
Their precise career totals are:
Woods: $120,999,166
McIlroy: $116,446,772
Scheffler: $116,364,411
Woods’ largest single tournament paycheck was $2.07 million, which he earned for winning the 2019 Masters. McIlroy, however, has eclipsed $2 million eight times, seven coming after Woods’ last Masters win.
Scheffler, meanwhile, has 20 such paychecks, including for events he finished as low as fourth in. He turned pro in 2018.
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So, McIlroy and Scheffler are closing in on the record helped by much larger purses than during most of Woods’ time. Indeed, Front Office Sports noted that the PGA Tour's eight signature events have paid out $20 million in purse prizes each, more than double what they paid during Woods’ prime.
The purse increases accelerated after the launch of LIV Golf, which arrived as a PGA Tour competitor in 2022. That year, PGA Tour announced it would increase purses to offer more competitive payouts.
And now, with the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship on the calendar for August, good results in those tournaments could vault McIlroy, Scheffler or both past Woods in career earnings.
The FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship both have $20 million purses, while the Tour Championship will pay out $40 million, including $10 million to the winner.
That means Woods’ longstanding record, which he set in 2000 by passing Davis Love III, could fall by the end of the month.
However, Woods still has 82 PGA Tour victories, tied with Sam Snead for the most ever. McIlroy is far back with 30, while Scheffler sits at 20.
At 37, McIlroy likely won’t ever come close to Woods’ record for tour wins. At his pace since his first PGA Tour victory, Scheffler would project to reach win No. 83 around 2040, when he would be 44.
Methodology: Annual PGA Tour earnings from year-by-year summary tables on Scottie Scheffler’s, Rory McIlroy’s and Tiger Woods’ Spotrac player pages. Totals include official PGA Tour events and payouts from the four Majors while PGA Tour bonuses are excluded. Beginning in 2025, Tour Championship prize money counts as official PGA TOUR money.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McIlroy, Scheffler could both top Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour earnings record this month
Source: “AOL Sports”
