Scottie Scheffler poised to reach $30M in single-season earnings

Men's golf world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, earned $14.04 million in the 2021-22 season on the U.S. Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tour, the most money in a single season. Scheffler himself broke this record just a year later. With 16 top-10 finishes, including two wins, in the 2022-23 season, Scheffler earned $21.01 million, ushering in the $20 million season earnings era for the first time in PGA Tour history.

Scottie Scheffler's recent victory at the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament was not just a win, but a record-breaking achievement. With a stellar eight-under 280 total, he claimed the title at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, the U.S. This signature event, boasting a $20 million purse, propelled his total earnings for the year to over $24 million, shattering the PGA Tour season earnings record he set just last year.

This year, Scheffler has won five times in 13 tournaments and finished in the top 10 twelve times. Three of his wins came in signature events, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the RBC Heritage, as well as major tournaments such as the Masters Tournament and the Players Championship, also known as the “fifth major tournament.” Scheffler’s chances of reaching the $30 million single-season earnings mark this season are pretty high. Right now, the third major tournament of the season, the U.S. Open, starts on Thursday, followed by the Travelers Championship next Thursday, the last signature event before the final major in July, The Open Championship. The playoffs that follow in mid-August also have significant prize money at stake. Scheffler, who has been playing on the PGA Tour since 2020, won his first title at the Phoenix Open in 2022. Since then, Scheffler has been in the prime of his career, especially as the prize pools have increased with the introduction of signature events.


Heon-Jae Lee uni@donga.com