The influx of cash into men’s professional golf has resulted in a record number of players reaching the US$1 million earnings mark in 2023.

All 49 members of LIV Golf to start in at least six events this past season earned more than US$1 million.

The Saudi-funded league completed its second season with Talor Gooch as its individual champion. Gooch wrapped up the year US$35.3 million richer thanks in part to an US$18 million bonus for first place in the standings.

The PGA Tour, which is now in negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, sought to keep up with the increase in prize purses LIV Golf was able to offer by introducing much higher purses for designated events, or “signature events” as they’ll be called going forward.

That helped 139 PGA Tour players make at least US$1 million in the 2022-23 season, meaning 188 male golfers earned at least that much this year. The PGA Tour season included the fall of 2022 and all of 2023 in advance of returning to calendar-year seasons.

Scottie Scheffler racked up US$21,014,342 over 23 events played on the PGA Tour. The designated events, including a US$4.5 million payday for winning The Players Championship, helped him break his own single-season record of US$14 million from 2021-22. REUTERS

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