PGA Tour’s Rory McIlroy or LIV Golf’s Dustin Johnson: Who made more money in 2022?
2022 was a big year for golf as fans saw the emergence of the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Some of the golf world's biggest names joined the LIV series. The successful launch of the rival tour saw the PGA Tour increase its prize purse as well.
The Greg Norman-led series reportedly spent around $800m in 2022. All golfers associated with the series bagged hefty paychecks. However, a non-LIV player still managed to top the year’s earning charts.
Thanks to the PGA Tour's elevated $20m purses and continued rising bonuses in the FedEx Cup and Player Impact Program, Rory McIlroy turned out to be the highest-earning player of the year. The Irish golfer earned over $44.8m, making him the MVP on the American tour.
Meanwhile, LIV Golf headliner and the tour’s inaugural season champion Dustin Johnson came second in the earner’s list. The American bagged $37.2m in 2022. It is pertinent to note that the PGA Tour earnings are inflated as the circuit’s 2021-22 season began in September 2021.
Rory McIlroy’s earnings in 2022
Rory McIlroy earned $44.8m in 2022. The Northern Irishman had a stellar year, both on and off the course. The golfer, who was the face of the PGA in its fight against LIV, won both the FedEx Cup and the Race to Dubai titles.
McIlroy also successfully defended his titles at the RBC Heritage and CJ Cup.
Coming to the golfer’s earnings, McIlroy made the most money from the FedEx Cup. The title win alone saw him earn $18m. He bagged $2m as the Race to Dubai bonus.
The World No. 1 earned a total of $10.6m from the PGA Tour and $2.2m from the DP World Tour. McIlroy settled for second place on the American circuit’s Player Impact Program behind Tiger Woods. However, he still won the $12m PIP money.
Dustin Johnson’s earnings in 2022
Despite doing quite well for himself, Dustin Johnson couldn’t grab the title of highest-earner of the year. The American golfer earned $37.2m and settled for second place.
DJ also had a successful year as the golfer played in all eight of the Saudi-backed series events and won the individual title.
Johnson reportedly joined LIV for a fee of $125m. Apart from this whopping sum, the golfer’s on-course earnings stood tall. The former PGA Tour player earned $1.6m from the circuit before joining LIV in June.
Following this, the golfer won $17m from the rebel series’ events. He also won $18m as the Individual champion.
Other big earners of 2022
PGA Tour’s Scottie Scheffler was the third-highest-earning player in the world. The golfer won $25.9m on the course. Scheffler won four events in 2022, including his maiden Major title at Augusta National.
The former World No.1 won the Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Match Play, which took his earnings to around $14.6m. He bagged $5.75m from the FedEx Cup and $5.5m from PGA Tour’s PIP.
LIV Golf’s Cameron Smith and Branden Grace followed Scheffler on the list with $18.4m and $17.5m, respectively. They sit above PGA Tour’s Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele.