An Analysis of Pro Golf Earnings
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Read Time: 5 minutes.
Hey Golfers —
There has never been a better time to make money in professional golf. Prize money and earnings have jumped significantly on all tours in the last five years.
It’s no secret that LIV Golf is the main driver of the earnings increase. You can agree or disagree with LIV Golf — I am not here to try and persuade your opinion either way. Competition generally improves a product and increases wages.
We can go back to the 2020 Players Championship transcript of Jay Monahan’s media address.
In that press conference, Jay was asked several questions regarding the Premier Golf League. The PGA Tour was aware of an entity wanting to enter the space as an alternative or competitive product.
One answer stands out to me. Here’s what Jay had to say about the future purse of the Players Championship.
I think we'll be — listen, here we were excited to move to a $15 million purse. I see us getting to $25 million, and I see that certainly through the term, if not earlier in the term.
The term Commissioner Monahan refers to the 2030 media rights deal.
The Players Championship purse hit $25 million for the first time in 2024, so the PGA Tour certainly hit its goal of a $25 million Players Championship purse by 2030.
If you asked the PGA Tour about the recent purse increases, I'd wager that they’d tell you that we would always get here. We just got here sooner than we anticipated.
Here’s a look at what pro golf earnings have done in the last five years.
The median earnings on the PGA Tour were $1,023,896 in 2019. And the leading money list earner was Brooks Koepka at $9,684,006.
The median earnings on the PGA Tour jumped to $1,534,525 in 2023, a jump of 49.8% in just four years. Scottie Scheffler was the leading money list earner, earning $28,148,691, nearly triple what Brooks Koepka won in 2019.
I will note that both the median earnings and the leading money list winner do not include bonuses like the FedEx Cup or PIP bonuses.
Here’s a look at PGA Tour median earnings since 2019 — it includes the current season, which will continue to rise.
The LPGA Tour has seen a nice jump in earnings as well.
In 2019, the median earnings on the LPGA Tour were $145,085. Ko Jin-Young was the money list leader at $2,773,894.
The median earnings on the LPGA Tour increased to $209,557 in 2023, an increase of 44.4% since 2019. Lilia Vu was the leading money list earner in 2023, at $3,502,303, an increase of 26.2%.
Here’s a look at LPGA Tour median earnings since 2019.
One item that has me most curious is the DP World Tour. It’s difficult to extract the data from the annual money list for the DP World Tour, so we took a different look at it.
Here is what the 75th money list earner made since 2019.
$658,000 — 2019
$340,000 — 2020
$400,000 — 2021
$534,000 — 2022
$597,000 — 2023
It's certainly an increase compared to 2020, but not over 2019. I went back to 2018 to see if 2019 may have been an outlier. The 75th money list earner in 2018 won $554,000. If we take 2023 over 2018, it’s an increase of 7.8%.
The DP World Tour had a record season-long purse at $144 million in 2023. They also introduced a minimum earnings guarantee of $150,000 for the season. But we have not seen as significant of increases as we have seen on other tours.
How about LIV?
LIV Golf’s median earnings were just over $5 million in 2023. Talor Gooch was the money list leader in 2023 at $35.3 million. Now — that $35.3 million included an $18 million bonus.
The big question is, has golf become a better product to watch on television? This is a very subjective question that will have a wide array of answers. Ratings have been mixed this year.
Television ratings are crucial for all sports leagues — in most cases, media deals are the primary revenue driver.
Is the money golfers are earning sustainable?
At golf’s current state, it becomes increasingly difficult for tours to make money. The PGA Tour needed investors to bolster its product, and LIV Golf isn’t making money.
Golfers have never made more money. But on the men’s side, this hasn’t translated into a better product for the consumer yet. I’m optimistic that we will see a better product in the future.
Have a great Monday. We will talk to you next week!
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Great piece. You're right about the subjectivity of perceived quality but in the final analysis, and picking up on Mr Hamilton's comment, measure by TV rating. People are turning off. The product at elite pro level is repetitive and unalluring, as have been the continual spats between LIV and PGA. Pro golf is in huge trouble, so the current money level is unsustainable. I fear your optimism for improvement currently feels misplaced
Great writing Jared. I’m interested in this: “I’m optimistic that we will see a better product in the future.” What do you think that looks like?