Golf, popularly known as the ‘Rich man’s game’, is a game you would probably associate with wealthy, old men going out on the weekend with their friends in the golf club situated in the countryside. And to some extent, you would be true, as it is a game requiring lots of patience and skill.
But the game is also a source of great revenue if you can fare well enough in it. The learning curve is easy, the mastering curve is not. This is why only the best of the best make it to the top, both on and off the green course.
So, today we will be looking at the richest golfers in the world. These are people who have made it to the top with their outstanding skills and etched their names in the history of the game forever.
1. Tiger Woods
Even if you have never seen a single minute of professional golf being played, you would recognize this name simply because of how famous it is.
Tiger Woods, one of the greatest golfers of all time, is at the top of our list. He has won a record 82 PGA golf tours, 41 European Golf Tours, and many more such accolades.
But what also makes him this famous is his luxurious business endorsements outside the sport.
He has earned lots of money through multiple brand deals such as Gillette, Buick, Nike Golf, American Express, and many more.
These brand deals made him the first professional athlete to cross 1 billion dollars in earnings, and currently, he has a net worth of 800 million dollars.
2. Arnold Palmer
Arnold ‘The King’ Palmer was an American golfer, who is regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. Arnold was a master of his art during the 1950s and 1960s, a period when he won half a dozen PGA tours and many other tournaments.
He was known to be a very charismatic golfer, and his talents off the course also included endorsements with companies such as Rolex, Cadillac, MasterCard, and many more. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 and also has a tournament named after him, the Arnold Palmer invitational.
Arnold has a net worth of 700 million dollars today.
3. Greg Norman
Greg Norman is an Australian golfer who played between 1976 and 2012. He has won 89 international tournaments including 20 PGA tours and 14 European Tours.
He is famous for having spent 331 weeks at Number 1 on the Official World Golf Rankings.
He now has a company by his name, the Greg Norman company, which specializes in fields such as apparel, real estate, golf course design, and many more.
Greg is worth 400 million dollars today.
4. Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson is an American golfer who has 45 PGA tour wins and 11 European tour wins in his career. He is popularly known as Lefty, due to his trademark left-handed swing.
Phil got inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012 and 2021 he won the PGA Championship, making him the oldest winner of the competition.
Phil has earned more than 50 million from his endorsement deals, with brands such as KPMG, ExxonMobil, Amstel Light, and many others.
Phil has a net worth of 400 million dollars today.
5. Jack Niklaus
Jack Niklaus is an American professional golfer who is known as one of the greatest golfers of all time, along with his rivals Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, who were known as the ‘Big Three’ of the 1960s.
Jack has won a massive 117 championships throughout his career, out of which he has 73 PGA Tour victories, which are the third-highest of all time.
Off the course, his golf course designing, books, and other ventures have earned him a lot of money, and today he is worth 320 million dollars.
6. Gary Player
Gary is another legend of the 1960s era and is a retired South African golfer with 150 tournament wins.
Gary has also worked as a golf course maker and has designed almost 400 such projects across 5 continents in the world. In his time, he was the youngest and first non-American golfer to win a Golf Career Slam.
Gary has a lot of business ventures with companies such as The Player Foundation, a philanthropic project, and Black Knight International, which include winemaking, real estate, apparel, and much more.
Gary’s net worth is 250 million dollars.
7. Rory Mcllroy
Rory Mcllroy is a star of the current generation, a legend in the making, and a superb golfer who hails from Northern Ireland.
Rory has 28 professional wins under his belt right now and is one of three players to win 4 major tournaments by the age of 25. Rory has achieved so many things during his young days, and he keeps on winning more and more accolades.
In 2012 he became the youngest player to earn 10 million dollars in winnings in the PGA tour.
Rory has had fabulous deals with brands such as Nike and EA Sports, and because of these his net worth currently is 130 million dollars.
8. Fred Couples
Fred Couples is an American golfer who has won 64 professional tournaments during his career, including 15 PGA tour wins and 13 PGA Champions Tour wins.
A Golf Hall of Fame inductee in 2013, Fred has been nicknamed ‘Boom Boom’ owing to his ability to hit long drives during his career.
Fred has also worked as a golf course designer along with his partner Gene D. Bates and created many championship golf courses across the world.
Fred has a net worth of 120 million Dollars.
9. Jordan Speith
Jordan Speith is an American golfer with 15 professional wins in his career so far and 12 PGA tour wins.
Jordan is the second youngest winner of the Masters and is the youngest US Open winner.
In such a short time he has won a lot of professional tournaments and has won almost 42 million dollars just in PGA tour competitions.
Jordan has a net worth of 100 million dollars.
10. Ernie Els
Ernie Els is a South African golfer and a former World No. 1. Ernie has 74 professional tournament wins in his career, and has won the PGA tour 19 times.
Ernie Els is also known as the ‘The Big Easy’ due to his huge physical structure and smooth style of playing the game.
Ernie has been inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame in 2011 and has also won European Tour player of the year 3 times. He has earned over 25 million dollars just from European Tour winnings, and his current net worth is 85 million dollars.
Golf is certainly a difficult game to get into, but recently many youngsters have started taking up the sport and also have had the chance to represent their country in international tournaments. The sport is very rewarding if you can stick around and keep honing your swinging skills, and there is a lot of money to be won in it as well!
Which golfer is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below and if you are interested in becoming a professional golfer!
