If you want to understand what happened to professional golf in 2024, don’t look at the swing videos or the equipment specs. Just look at the bank statements. Honestly, the pga 2024 money list reads less like a sports ranking and more like a high-end corporate payroll. We’ve entered an era where "making the cut" isn't just about survival—it's about generational wealth, and the numbers from this past season are, frankly, hard to wrap your head around if you still remember when winning a million bucks was the pinnacle of the sport.
Scottie Scheffler didn't just have a good year. He had a year that effectively broke the calculator.
The Scottie Scheffler Economic Anomaly
Scottie Scheffler finished the 2024 season with $29,228,357 in official prize money.
Let that sink in for a second. That number doesn't even include the $25 million bonus he pocketed for winning the FedEx Cup. When you add up his official earnings, the Comcast Business Tour Top 10 bonus, and the FedEx Cup windfall, the guy cleared over $62 million in a single season.
It’s kind of wild to think that Tiger Woods, during his legendary nine-win season in 2000, "only" made about $9.1 million. Of course, inflation is a thing, but this isn't just inflation. This is a total structural shift in how the PGA Tour distributes cash. Thanks to the "Signature Events" model—those limited-field, $20 million purse tournaments—the best players are essentially playing for a King's ransom every other week. Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, the Masters, the RBC Heritage, the Memorial, and the Travelers.
Basically, if there was a massive check on the table, Scottie was the one signing for it.
Why Xander Schauffele is the Richest "Runner Up" Ever
Xander Schauffele had the kind of season that would usually make you the undisputed king of the world. He won two Majors—the PGA Championship and The Open. In any other decade, he’d be the guy we’re talking about as the financial titan of the year.
He brought home $18,355,910 in official earnings.
It's sorta crazy that you can win two Majors and still be more than $10 million behind the money leader. But that’s the reality of the pga 2024 money list. The consistency Scheffler displayed, combined with the weighted payouts of the Signature Events, created a gap that even multiple Major championships couldn't bridge.
Beyond the Top Two: The Middle Class is Gone
One thing most people get wrong about the modern money list is the idea that it’s only top-heavy. While the stars are getting richer, the "floor" has been raised significantly.
Check out these numbers for the guys who weren't necessarily "dominating" the headlines:
- Hideki Matsuyama sat at third with $11,237,611, fueled by a massive win at the Genesis Invitational.
- Wyndham Clark followed closely at $10,901,416.
- Rory McIlroy, despite what many called a "down" or "frustrating" year, still banked $10,893,790.
The stat that really jumps out is Ludvig Åberg. The Swedish phenom finished 6th on the money list with $9,728,857. The kicker? He didn’t even win a tournament in the 2024 season.
He just played incredibly consistent golf, piled up top-10 finishes, and exploited the massive purses of the Signature Events. It’s proof that you don’t even have to hoist a trophy anymore to become a multimillionaire before your 25th birthday.
How the Money List Actually Works Now
The term "official money" is becoming a bit of a misnomer because it doesn't tell the whole story. The Tour has split the loot into several buckets. You have the regular season purses, the Signature Event premiums, the Player Impact Program (PIP), and the FedEx Cup bonuses.
In the old days, the money list was the primary way we measured success. Now, it's more like a "Total Compensation" report.
If you look at the 50th person on the list, Max Greyserman, he made $3,196,556. For context, twenty years ago, that amount would have put you in the top 5 or 10. Today, it’s what you get for being a solid, top-tier professional who keeps his card and pops up on a few leaderboards. The average earnings for the tour in 2024 sat just under $2 million.
That is a massive jump from even five years ago.
The Signature Event Effect
We have to talk about why these numbers look so inflated. The PGA Tour created a "Signature Event" series to keep the stars from jumping to LIV Golf. These eight events have $20 million purses.
Because the fields are smaller (usually 70-80 players) and often have no cut, the "money per start" has skyrocketed. Scottie Scheffler averaged about $1.38 million per event. Every time he tied his shoes for a tournament, he was essentially guaranteed a six-figure check, and more often than not, a seven-figure one.
The Top 10 Reality Check
If you're looking at the final 2024 standings, here is how the top of the mountain looked:
- Scottie Scheffler: $29.2M
- Xander Schauffele: $18.3M
- Hideki Matsuyama: $11.2M
- Wyndham Clark: $10.9M
- Rory McIlroy: $10.8M
- Ludvig Åberg: $9.7M
- Collin Morikawa: $8.3M
- Sahith Theegala: $8.2M
- Keegan Bradley: $6.8M
- Patrick Cantlay: $6.2M
It's worth noting that Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa also didn't win in 2024, yet they both cleared $8 million. The rewards for being "very good" are now almost indistinguishable from the rewards for being "great" in previous generations.
Is This Sustainable?
There’s a lot of debate among golf purists about whether this is good for the game. Some fans feel the focus on "purses" and "payouts" has overshadowed the actual competition. When every interview involves a question about "the money," the soul of the sport can feel a bit lost.
However, from a business perspective, the pga 2024 money list shows a tour that is aggressively defending its territory. They are making it impossible for a young, talented player to look at a LIV contract and think the PGA Tour is the "poor" option.
If you can make $9 million without winning a single tournament—like Åberg did—the incentive to stay and play against the best in the world is incredibly high.
What You Can Learn From the 2024 Numbers
If you’re a fan or a bettor trying to make sense of this, there are a few actionable takeaways from how the money was distributed this year:
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- Consistency beats "lighting in a bottle": The Signature Events reward the guys who are always there. Look for players with high "Strokes Gained" totals rather than just those who have a hot putter for one week.
- The "No-Cut" factor: In these big-money events, the top players are guaranteed to earn. This has allowed the elite to separate themselves from the pack financially, creating a "Super League" within the Tour itself.
- Track the "Aon Next 10": This is a new term you’ll hear often. It’s the race for players to get into these high-purse events. The real "money" isn't made in the regular tournaments; it's made by qualifying for the Signature Events where the purses are doubled.
The 2024 season proved that the ceiling for earnings in professional golf hasn't just been raised—it's been removed entirely. As we move into the next season, expect these numbers to remain the benchmark.
To keep up with how this impacts your favorite players, you should monitor the weekly FedEx Cup standings rather than just the money list. The points lead to the Signature Event invites, and as we saw with the pga 2024 money list, those invites are the literal golden tickets of the sport.
Keep an eye on the "Signature Event" eligibility list throughout the spring. Players who sneak into the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings during the early-season "swings" are the ones most likely to see their bank accounts explode by the time the summer majors roll around.