Money reigns supreme, and that is very true in the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf debate. With money seeming to flow freely at LIV, it’s worth looking into what the numbers actually say. The signing bonuses for many players leaving for LIV is massive, but how does it all translate and compare to the Tour?
With fewer events but a potentially larger prize purse, LIV has an interesting financial aspect that the PGA Tour doesn’t at this time. That may change in the merger, but there’s definitely a monetary division right now.
The biggest payment for the vast majority of those who left for LIV Golf was the initial signing bonus, which was often a massive lump sum. Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith signed contracts that were worth more than $100 million.
On the other side, the PGA Tour gave out over $560 million in prize money this year. That includes $100 million for the Player Impact Program and $75 million for the Tour Championship. PIP is for the top 20 players, so most of them got the most money.
LIV’s total prize purse rose to $405 million in 2023. That included $115 million in team prize money as well as $30 million for the top three in the individual points race.
Much of the PGA Tour’s prize money increase can be attributed to LIV. The threat of much more money coming elsewhere forced PGA to up their money handouts to prevent golfers from defecting. It didn’t always work, but some on Tour benefitted.
Which players earned more: PGA Tour stars or LIV Golfers?
Technically speaking, Viktor Hovland made more money than anyone else. The PGA Tour’s leading earner from the 2023 season took in about $37.1 million for his performances.
On the LIV side, Talor Gooch was the top earner, pocketing about $36 million for his performances on the rebel tour. Gooch took home $17.3 million over 14 events on the schedule. He was also given $18 million for capturing the individual scoring title and another $800,000 for his share from the team competition.
Hovland’s earnings break down as follows: $14.1 from tournament winnings on various events, $18 million for winning the FedEx Cup and another $5 million from the PIP.
The top five earners on LIV this year were: Gooch, Cameron Smith ($23.2 million), Brooks Koepka ($17.7 million), Bryson DeChambeau ($14.7 million) and Harold Varner III ($9.9 million).
On the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy earned $32.9 million, Scottie Scheffler earned $29 million, Jon Rahm got $26.2 million, and Xander Schauffele at $17.9 million to round out the top five with Viktor Hovland at the top.
While it often appears that golfers get thrown money on LIV, the numbers suggest there could be more money at the stake on PGA Tour. It is definitely skewed towards the best performers and those who get PIP money, but it’s not as black and white monetarily as it initially seemed.
