Golf and big money seem to be going hand in hand more than ever right not and while some are sick of the talk of money, it would be remiss not to compare the PGA Tour and LIV Golf earnings in 2024.
Of course, many over on LIV Golf have already had their lives made with huge signing on bonuses which in a way, has made earnings on course matter far less.
Indeed, we all know, Jon Rahm took a whopping $500m to join LIV in the first place to shake the golfing world.
Over on the PGA Tour, as we know, it’s all about winning events to rack up the cash and while the PGA Tour does now pay out big sums as part of the Player Impact Program, these are not direct ‘bonuses’ as players can earn on LIV.
Of course, so much has been made of LIV’s money from the Saudi Public Investment Fund that it’s almost made it seem like the PGA is not making millionaires themselves.
However, a look into the money lists for 2024 shows that actually, it might be more worthwhile being on the PGA side of things, especially if you are not a serial winner.
Top 30 PGA Tour players earn more than LIV Golf players in 2024
While the PGA Tour has far more players to pay out with its winnings than the LIV Tour, when looking at the top 30 on the money list for each tour, it’s actually the PGA who come out on top.
The PGA Tour paid out in excess of $215m in prize money to its top 30, while LIV wasn’t too far behind but paid less, closer to the $200m mark.
Crucially in the figures, the PGA players listed 31 all the way down to 114th place Matt Wallace all made over a million dollars in 2024 prize money.
Another interesting comparison is a look at the 54th placed player on each tour. Over on LIV, Hudson Swafford took that spot by winning $1,000,250, while over the PGA Tour, Mackenzie Hughes pocketed nearly $3m for the same position.
Top ten players by prize money across the PGA and LIV Golf Tours
As we can see from the table below, there is a fairly even split of LIV and PGA players when it comes to the top ten (excluding any bonus payments)
| Player | Amount earned in prize money for 2024 |
| Scottie Scheffler | $29,228,357 |
| Xander Schauffele | $18,355,910 |
| Jon Rahm | $16,754,488 |
| Joaquin Niemann | $16,544,167 |
| Sergio Garcia | $13,634,643 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | $12,030,263 |
| Brooks Koepka | $11,633,115 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | $11,237,611 |
| Wyndham Clark | $10,901,416 |
| Rory McIlroy | $10,893,790 |
As it stands, then, barring the huge signing on fees LIV give out, there isn’t much in it when it comes to the very top players in the game.
Furthermore, those who are less likely to be winning weekly, are actually better off on the PGA Tour in terms of potential prize money earnings.
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