Scottie Scheffler has recently drawn parallels to Tiger Woods, and rightfully so. Scheffler is the most dominant World No. 1 since Woods in terms of world ranking points, has the best strokes gained figures since Tiger, and has won more prize money in a season than Woods has ever done. The last point, however, will be examined more closely.
Of course, a lot has changed since Woods was in his heyday, including golfers being paid significantly more. Thank you, Tiger. And if you alter the financials from Woods’ peak, the results are astounding.
We know this because our own Jamie Kennedy calculated the prize money Woods would have earned in 2024 based on his historic 2000 season, during which he won nine PGA Tour championships, including three majors. Woods broke the record in 2000 with more over $10.7 million in profits, but that’s nothing compared to what he’d earn now.
When factoring in bigger purses and new player bonuses—both for the FedEx Cup and the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program—that number jumps to . . . drumroll, please . . . more than $92 MILLION! For ONE season! Have a look:
How much would Tiger's 2000 season have earned him in 2024 money?
Of course, I calculated it 💰 pic.twitter.com/jgzeG25aoK
— Jamie Kennedy (@jamierkennedy) April 17, 2024
Unbelievable. Kennedy points out that it’s not a perfect analogy to events, and that when Woods tied for a given position (say T-5), he gave him credit for solo fifth money. Jamie also projected Woods would have won both the FedEx Cup and the PIP top bonus—a reasonable assumption given his nine victories, including three majors!
Scheffler’s $21,014,032 from last season, excluding bonuses, is the tour record for the highest prize money received in a single season. Once again, thank you, Tiger.
Woods, on the other hand, has earned slightly less than $121 million in official prize money since his professional debut in 1996. However, under current rewards, he would have received around three-quarters of that in a single season.
Anyway, we may make whatever comparisons we choose. But, as Scottie is well aware, when it comes to the best players (at least in the contemporary age), there is still Tiger and everyone else.