Professional golf is an interesting sport. Interesting in that it quietly makes a large amount of money. Take the PGA tour for example – you know those quiet Sunday afternoons with the final round of the golf tournament on – well that golf tournament is a piece of close to a $2 billion dollar puzzle. Who would have thought right? As for the players themselves, well it’s pretty simple; win and you’re in. For the richest golfers in the history of the sport winning makes up a huge percentage of their net worth, but it’s those who go on to develop successful business ventures and build lucrative endorsement portfolios that really make a bundle.
Interestingly enough, you won’t find a lot of NFL or MLB players (current or retired) with a net worth quite like these professional golfers. The sport pays and a lot of it is endorsement money. Anyway, enough rambling on how lucrative professional golf can be if you’re successful, marketable and smart. Check out the Top 15 Richest Golfers of All-Time….
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15.) Lee Trevino – $40 million
Lee Trevino built a stellar career that saw him win 89 professional tournaments including 6 major championships. The only major to elude the “Merry Mex” was the Masters. A lot of Trevino’s financial success can be attributed to his success on the Senior PGA Tour. He had 29 Senior Tour wins including 7 majors. He topped the Senior Tour money list twice (1990,1992). His combination of golf skill and well-known merry personality not only made him successful it made him serious money.
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14.) Adam Scott – $40 million
At the ripe old age of 34, Adam Scott has emerged as one of the best golfers in the world today. As a professional, Scott has 27 wins, his biggest being the 2013 Masters. That win alone put a couple million dollars into Scott’s pocket. The great thing about his positioning right now is he’s one of the top golfers in the world and he’s extremely marketable. There’s no question his net worth is trending upwards, which is scary to say at $40 million.
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13.) Lee Westwood – $40 million
There’s nothing flashy about Lee Westwood, but apparently being amazingly consistent gets you paid. Of course it does… Westwood has won tournaments on pretty much every major continent in the world. He was named player of the year in 1998, 2000 and 2009. The 41-year old has never won a major, but he’s won 4o times in his career. It doesn’t hurt that he has endorsement deals with Ping, UPS and more…
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12.) Rory McIlroy – $50 million
Don’t get too used to the number you’re looking at here because Rory is hot right now, so hot. The current World #1 golfer is coming off a British Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational win vaulting him to #1 and putting some serious coin in his pocket. Of his 14 tournament wins, 3 are majors, which is quite a feat. I guess all we can say is that in 2012 he was the leading money earner on the tour and he’s sponsored by Nike. Do we need to say anything else?
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11.) Jim Furyk – $50 million
Jim Furyk has done something incredible in that he was ranked in the Top 10 for over 360 weeks in the span of 15 years between 1999 and 2004. That’s surely going to earn him some money. He’s not the endorsement champion like Rory or Adam Scott, but he’s consistent like Westwood and that gets him paid. He’s won 26 times including the U.S. open, and was the Fedex and PGA Player of the Year in 2010.
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10.) Nick Faldo – $60 million
Sir Nick Faldo was ranked #1 in the world for 97 weeks during his career. He has 40 professional wins that include six majors (3 Open Championships and 3 Masters). He was named European Player of the Year 3 times and PGA Player of the Year once. It all equates to money for one of the all-time greats. Faldo’s net worth is buoyed by his current work as lead analyst for CBS Sports. Even though his career is essentially over, he’s still making money through the sport.
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9.) Ernie Els – $75 million
South African former World #1 golfer Ernie Els has carved out a brilliant career for himself and it’s still going. Els has won 66 times on the professional circuit that includes four major championships. He’s one of only six golfers in the history of the sport to have won the U.S. Open and The Open Championship twice. Elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, Els is also a modern-day player in that his net worth is also a product of business ventures such as a golf course design business and wine-making venture.
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8.) Vijay Singh – $75 million
Vijay Singh is a Fijian golfer who was the world #1 for 32 weeks between 2004 and 2005. At 51 years old Vijay still competes, but his glory days are over. Nothing to be ashamed of as Singh has won a whopping 59 times on tour that includes three major championships. Singh was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2005. His career success is a large driver of his net worth.
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7.) Fred Couples – $105 million
Fred Couples is a former world #1 golfer who has won 57 professional tournaments in his career. Freddy is still playing, but he’s not at the pinnacle of his game like he was in the early 90’s. Couples most notable win was the 1992 Masters and he’s since gone on to make some serious bank on the Senior PGA Tour winning the Senior Players Championship and Senior British Open. Couples was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013.
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6.) Phil Mickelson – $180 million
The most popular golfer on the tour today, Phil Mickelson marks a huge jump from #7 to #6 in terms of net worth. Mickelson is a cash cow and it isn’t because he’s a terrific golfer. Sure he’s won five majors and 42 total events in his career, but he’s also one of the most marketable stars on the tour. Mickelson has an expansive endorsement portfolio, his own business ventures and investments so while he’s earning money on the course, he’s earning even more money off of it.
5.) Gary Player – $200 million
There’s no question that Phil Mickelson will be considered one of the best golfers of his generation, but as we move into #5 we start talking about all-time greats. Cue Gary Player – The South African is considered one of the greatest players of all-time. His resume is ridiculous with 165 professional wins and nine major championships. Player made money during his career, but he’s making more money now that his career is over. He has expansive business interests and is widely-regarded as one of the world’s greatest golf course architects. He has over 325 design projects on on five continents. Player has become a brilliant businessman after his brilliant career.
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4.) Jack Nicklaus – $280 million
Another great, another huge jump in net worth. This time we’re talking about perhaps the greatest golfer of all-time. Jack Nicklaus has 115 wins, which is impressive. What’s mind-blowing is his record 18 major championship wins and 19 second place finishes.. 19!! Jack Nicklaus has perhaps the most-impressive resume in the history of golf. He’s since gone on to participate in various business activities including golf course design and his own Golden Bear brand. His golf course design company is one of the largest in the world and his net worth reflects that!
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3.) Greg Norman – $300 million
Greg Norman is an all-time golfing great that became a very successful entrepreneur. You certainly didn’t need to be told he was a success by looking at his net worth, but just in case you weren’t sure. Norman was a very successful golfer who spent 331 week’s as the world’s #1 golfer. He won 85 professional tournaments including two major championships. Nicknamed the ‘Great White Shark’, he’s gone on to start Great White Shark Enterprises, which primarily focuses golf and golf lifestyle. He also an incredibly successful golf course designer.
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2.) Tiger Woods – $550 million
One of the highest-paid athletes in the world for years, Tiger Woods is also one of the most-successful golfers of all-time. It’s easy to let Tiger’s personal history and drama cloud the fact he’s an incredible golf success story. He’s won 106 times professionally that includes a whopping 14 major titles. While Tiger has made millions on the golf course, he’s made twice that through Nike. The face of Nike golf for years, Tiger Woods took the marriage between brand and golf to an entirely new level and he was paid for it. Woods has also started his own ventures and dabbles in golf course design.
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1.) Arnold Palmer – $675 million
When you’re drinking an Arnold Palmer this weekend just know you’re drinking something named after the richest golfer of all-time. While he’s widely-regarded as one of the best all-time with 95 career wins and 7 major championships, Palmer is probably the sports’ most popular figure…ever. He transformed the sport during his age and would go on to create a diverse business career around golf. You name it Palmer has done it in the sport of golf and he continues to appear on video game covers, magazines and just about everywhere else. He’s the man when it comes to professional golf and making money.
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