Whatever the future of LIV Golf, whether an agreement is reached to partner with the PGA Tour or the Saudi-backed league remains separate and continues to play nemesis and antagonist to the tour, the mark has been made.
The final numbers on the PGA Tour money list for 2023 are a direct result of LIV forcing the Tour to increase purses and find more avenues for its players to boost income. Those increases across the board have the tour’s top earners surpassing their LIV counterparts when it comes to prize money.
Of course, the biggest payday for most of those who defected from the PGA Tour to LIV was the initial contract, or signing bonus. This includes a handful of players such as Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith whose contracts exceeded $100 million.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour handed out more than $560 million in prize money in 2023, including $100 million for the Player Impact Program and $75 million for the Tour Championship. The PIP money goes to the top 20 players who boosted engagement and publicity for the tour.
LIV’s total purse increased to $405 million in Year 2 of its existence. LIV’s purse includes $115 million in team prize money and $30 million split between the top three in the seasonlong individual race.
The LIV schedule includes 14 events compared to 38 on the PGA Tour. Still, the top earners on Tour play around 20 events, some as few as 18, others 23. LIV golfers who qualify for the four majors play at least 18 events. And every golfer enters a handful of tournaments on other tours.
LIV certainly got the attention of the PGA Tour with its massive contracts and increased purses, forcing the tour to dramatically up its prize money game. The Tour’s total prize money has risen substantially since 2021 when it was just under $400 million.
While the threat of more players defecting to LIV certainly played a factor, that money had to come from somewhere. Besides leaning on sponsors to help with the eight signature events with $20 million purses, the Tour received an infusion of money with nine-year media deals with CBS, NBC and ESPN that started in 2022.
The 2023 money list was finalized after distributing the PIP money. The top 10 made about $220 million combined compared with LIV’s top 10, who earned approximately $147 million in prize money.
LIV’s totals include each individual’s slice from the season-ending $50 million team event at Doral, but not the $5 million awarded to the top…
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