Will Scheffler Surpass Woods This Year?

A $21,546,035 Gap in Career Earnings
At Least $20 Million Earned Annually Over the Past Three Seasons
Prize Money Race Heats Up on PGA Tour After Launch of LIV Golf
Record May Fall This Year, or at the Latest Before Next Year's Masters

The rise of Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number one golfer from the United States, is nothing short of remarkable. At present, there appears to be no real contender who can threaten his dominance.

Since debuting on the PGA Tour in 2019, it has taken Scheffler only six years to achieve results comparable to those of the "golf emperor" Tiger Woods. In particular, over the past four years, he has virtually dominated men’s professional golf. At this rate, he is poised to surpass Woods in total career earnings on the PGA Tour in the near future.

Scheffler is regarded as the player whose skills most closely resemble those of Woods during his prime. Since first reaching the world number one ranking in February 2022, he has recorded 19 career PGA Tour victories, including four major championships.

These achievements have translated directly into prize money. Scheffler has earned a total of $99,453,136 (approximately 145.87 billion won) on the PGA Tour, ranking third in this category. Tiger Woods is first with $120,999,166 (about 177.47 billion won), and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is second with $107,981,766 (about 158.38 billion won).

Scottie Scheffler (right) is expected to surpass Tiger Woods, the all-time prize money leader, as early as this year. Photo by AFP

Below fourth place in career earnings are Justin Rose of England ($73,736,017), Jim Furyk of the United States ($71,507,269), Vijay Singh of Fiji ($71,281,216), Justin Thomas of the United States ($70,601,520), Adam Scott of Australia ($69,759,328), Jordan Spieth of the United States ($65,901,630), and Jason Day of Australia ($64,871,738). There is a clear gap between the top three and the rest.

Scheffler is, quite literally, a "prize money machine." In the 2019-2020 season, he surpassed $1 million in season earnings for the first time, and over the subsequent six seasons, he averaged $16.5 million per season. Narrowing it down to the last three seasons, he has earned at least $20 million each year. In 2024, he peaked at an astonishing $29 million.

Tiger Woods is a living legend, tying the all-time record for PGA Tour wins with 82, including 15 major championships. Over nearly 30 years, he has lifted countless trophies, but his average season earnings were only about $4.5 million. This is because the prize money during Woods’s prime was far smaller than it is today and cannot be compared to the current scale.

The variable now is Woods’s current condition. Born in December 1975, he will turn 50 this winter. Competing head-to-head with players in their 20s is a challenge at this age. In particular, since undergoing back surgery last October, he has been focusing on rehabilitation.

Woods was unable to participate in the PGA Tour’s special event, the Hero World Challenge, hosted by his own foundation last month. He commented, "My recovery is not progressing as quickly as I thought," and added, "I will only know when I can return to competition once I start playing golf in earnest," expressing a cautious outlook.

Tiger Woods has been absent from the field since participating in The Open in 2024. Photo by AFP News Agency

Woods’s last official tournament was The Open in July 2024. Since then, he has been away from the field for nearly a year and a half. Recently, he has only appeared in the screen golf league TGL. Even if he does return to the PGA Tour this year, analysts say it will be difficult to expect the same level of performance as in his prime. U.S. media have reported, "Woods can still hit good shots, but it does not appear easy for him to walk the course and compete."

Since the launch of LIV Golf, backed by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund in 2022, the PGA Tour has been scaling up. Tournament prize money and player welfare have improved significantly, and there are now eight signature events each with a total purse of $20 million. This year, the PGA Tour is holding a record 45 tournaments.

Scottie Scheffler is the unrivaled world's strongest. Photo by AFP News Agency

In this environment, Scheffler has displayed peak performance over the past two years, winning seven times in 2024 and six times last year. Over the past 40 years, only Woods and Scheffler have won six or more PGA Tour events in two consecutive years. Last year, Scheffler ranked first in 17 major statistical categories tracked by the PGA Tour and did not miss a single cut. He posted an overwhelming record, finishing in the top 10 in 17 out of 20 tournaments entered.

Scheffler is highly likely to become the all-time PGA Tour career earnings leader as early as this year. The gap with current leader Woods stands at $21,546,030 (about 31.6 billion won). Locally, there is speculation that a new earnings leader will emerge no later than next year’s Masters Tournament.