While most golfers on the PGA Tour are ‘famous’ in their own rights, few players – if any – can lay claim to being as well known as the great Tiger Woods.
Woods’ 15 major wins and 82 PGA Tour victories mark him out as one of the all-time greats of the game.
However, it is beyond those tournament wins where Woods really comes into his own. A needle mover for the game, Tiger’s partnerships with the likes of Nike and EA over the years have made him a household name outside of golf.
That is something few pro golfers can relate to, with many – barring the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler – known too far outside of their own sport.
With that, comes the fame and fortune that we’ve all witnessed Tiger experience and in a rollercoaster time off the course, there’s an argument to be made to suggest that fame has impacted him.
Indeed, back in 2003, Woods was asked if he felt ‘too famous’, to which Woods did his best to answer.
Tiger Woods’ answer when asked if he felt he was too famous
Tiger Woods often speaks so eloquently about a number of issues in golf and it’s little wonder he’s one of the key players behind any potential LIV and PGA deal.
However, in terms of being ‘The Guy’ in golf, Woods was asked in 2003 by a reporter on if he felt he was actually too famous. Woods’ reply, as expected, was measured.
Well, I think one of the things that I certainly miss from back in my college days is anonymity,” Woods said. “It would be nice to have that and be as successful as I have been, but you can’t have both.
“If you’re successful, I think that people obviously are going to – writers are going to write more about you – hence, curiosity by the public and you obviously get more attention because of that.
“Yeah, there’s the type of responsibilities that come with success, and anyone who has success in any field is going to have to deal with that. Obviously when you’re in front of the cameras and in the media, then you’re going to have a lot more attention placed upon you, a lot more pressures and a lot more tugs and pulls, actually, than most. That’s just part of it.
“I have to admit, when I first came out and I turned pro and I’ve had some success early, I fought it. I wasn’t really comfortable with it and I’m still not really comfortable with it now, but I understand it and I accept it. It’s not one of those things that you have to like.”
Going further with his comments, Woods explained how he didn’t shirk his responsibility as a top athlete and ultimately, it’s something people have to accept.
“You just have to understand and accept your responsibilities, and that’s something that I have done. It’s nice to get the respectfulness from the fans and everything, but I still feel uncomfortable with that, when that many eyes are looking at you. It’s not like you walk around that way at home with eyes looking at you. You know, it just feels a little awkward sometimes.”
The highest earning golfers in PGA Tour history
It’s nigh on impossible to find an exact metric to measure fame on so when it comes to the golfers on the PGA Tour, the easiest stat to look at is the money earned in winnings.
And despite not winning on TOUR since 2019 and Scottie Scheffler set to go over the $100m line soon enough, Tiger remains the man at the summit.
| Player | Prize money earned on the PGA Tour as of January 2025 |
| Tiger Woods | $120,999,166 |
| Phil Mickelson | $96,685,635 |
| Rory McIlroy | $90,989,348 |
| Dustin Johnson | $75,557,026 |
| Scottie Scheffler | $71,793,586 |
| Jim Furyk | $71,507,269 |
Woods is likely to remain on top for the time being but with Scottie Scheffler in his prime and Rory McIlroy still in contention most weeks, he could well be usurped eventually.
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