The game of golf has been described as nothing more than a "good walk spoiled," but that couldn't be further from the truth for Stacker's list of the 50 richest golfers, who have a combined net worth north of $4 billion.
To uncover the 50 richest golfers, Stacker consulted Celebrity Net Worth and ranked the world's richest golfers by their 2019 net worth. Some of the greatest names in the history of golf occupy the ranks, including a Golden Bear and a Shark, both of whom are staring up at a Tiger.
While male players secured 48 of the 50 spots, the lone woman is considered the greatest women's player of all time and was the first to compete against men in a PGA Tour event. The other spot belongs to a course designer responsible for some of golf's greatest tracts—and one of its most horrifying holes.
Tiger Woods' being the richest golfer on the list won't come as a surprise to most, as he hit his first televised golf shot at the age of three and has earned nearly $1 billion from golf and endorsements since. His image took a serious hit from a much-publicized divorce in 2010, but he is still among sports' highest-paid athletes.
Tiger's success sent golf's prize and endorsement money soaring in the 2000s, but a few legendary players managed to make the cut, as names like Trevino, Watson, and Langer continued adding to their fortunes on the Champions Tour. Business acumen also helped some of the old-time players as well, turning their legendary playing status into world-class course design and consulting firms. In fact, the second-richest golfer on the list made less than $15 million on the PGA Tour, but his apparel company has generated more than $500 million in total sales.
Continue reading to see Stacker's list of the 50 richest golfers. Along with each golfer's net worth, we include information about some of their more prominent victories and historic achievements.
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1 / 50#50 (tie). Michael Allen
- Net worth: $20 million
Longevity has been the secret to Michael Allen’s golfing success, as the California native captured his first victory on the European Tour in 1989. He would not reach the top of a leaderboard again for two decades, holding off Larry Mize by two strokes to win his Champions Tour debut, the 2009 Senior PGA Championship. He has won seven more times on the Champions Tour, including the 2014 Allianz Championship, where he carded an opening-round 60, just the ninth player ever to go that low on the tour.
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2 / 50#50 (tie). Louis Oosthuizen
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3 / 50#50 (tie). Francesco Molinari
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4 / 50#50 (tie). Dustin Johnson
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5 / 50#50 (tie). David Duval
- Net worth: $20 million
David Duval was one of the best golfers in the world from 1997–2000, finishing in the top five on the money list each year, including the top spot in 1998. While 12 of his 13 PGA Tour victories fell during that stretch, his signature win came at the 2001 Open Championship, where he shot a final-round 67 for his lone major. The Open would be his final win, as injuries and personal problems plagued Duval the rest of his career before he moved to the broadcast booth in 2015.
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6 / 50#50 (tie). Brandt Snedeker
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7 / 50Andrew Redington // Getty Images
8 / 50#43. Martin Kaymer
- Net worth: $22 million
Martin Kaymer was on top of the golfing world in 2011, reaching #1 in the world following a two-year stretch that included seven European Tour wins and his first major, the 2010 PGA Championship. The German golfer won The Players Championship in 2014 and, one month later, destroyed the field by eight shots to win the U.S. Open.
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9 / 50Chris Condon // Getty Images
10 / 50Ezra Shaw // Getty Images
11 / 50Sam Greenwood // Getty Images
12 / 50Steve Dykes // Getty Images
13 / 50#42 (tie). Justin Leonard
- Net worth: $25 million
Justin Leonard has earned more than $33 million since turning pro in 1994, with 12 victories and 99 top-10 finishes. In 1997, he captured his lone major, becoming the first player in 66 years to come from five strokes behind in the final round to win The Open Championship at Royal Troon. He has won the Valero Texas Open three times, joining Arnold Palmer as the only three-time winners of the event.
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14 / 50#42 (tie). Jesper Parnevik
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15 / 50#42 (tie). Hideki Matsuyama
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16 / 50#42 (tie). Henrik Stenson
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17 / 50Chris Condon // Getty Images
18 / 50#42 (tie). Bernhard Langer
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19 / 50Cliff Hawkins // Getty Images
20 / 50Michael Reaves // Getty Images
21 / 50#32 (tie). Ian Woosnam
- Net worth: $30 million
Welshman Ian Woosnam captured 28 events on the European Tour in the 1980s and ‘90s, winning Player of the Year honors twice. His lone PGA Tour victory came in 1991 at The Masters, sinking a birdie putt on the 72nd hole for a one-shot win over Jose Maria Olazabal. He held the world #1 ranking for nearly a year from 1990–91 and was a member of eight consecutive Ryder Cup teams from 1983–97. The 5-foot-4 “Woosie” was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.
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22 / 50Ian Walton // Getty Images
23 / 50Stacy Revere // Getty Images
24 / 50NurPhoto // Getty Images
25 / 50Chris Trotman // Getty Images
26 / 50#25 (tie). Padraig Harrington
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27 / 50#25 (tie). Luke Donald
- Net worth: $40 million
Luke Donald has five career victories and 79 top-10 finishes since joining the PGA Tour in 2001, most notably at the 2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. That victory over Martin Kaymer was part of a banner 2011 for Donald, which saw him become the first player to lead the season money lists on both the PGA and European Tours, earning nearly $14 million between the two. Donald started his own brand of wines in 2007 and has been paid up to $1 million to wear Mizuno’s logo on his visor.
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28 / 50Christian Petersen // Getty Images
29 / 50Tim Bradbury // Getty Images
30 / 50#25 (tie). Justin Rose
- Net worth: $40 million
Justin Rose burst onto the golfing scene as a 17-year-old amateur, placing fourth at the 1998 Open Championship with a dramatic chip-in on the final hole. He turned pro the next day, going on to win 21 times between the European and PGA Tours, including a two-shot win over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day at the 2013 U.S. Open. In 2016, the Englishman became the first golfer in more than 110 years to win an Olympic gold medal, and in 2018 became the first player to win the FedEx Cup—and the $10 million bonus—without winning a single playoff event.
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31 / 50Ross Kinnaird // Getty Images
32 / 50#25 (tie). Graeme McDowell
- Net worth: $40 million
Graeme McDowell had a successful career on the European Tour going when he won his first PGA event, the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. McDowell capped 2010 by stunning Tiger Woods in a playoff at the 2010 Chevron World Challenge to win the $1.2 million purse. He won the Saudi International in February over Dustin Johnson for his first win since 2014, pocketing $500,000 for his efforts.
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33 / 50#25 (tie). Annika Sorenstam
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34 / 50#17 (tie). Pete Dye
- Net worth: $50 million
Pete Dye only played in a handful of professional golf tournaments, but his career as an architect has had a profound effect on the game. Dye, who died in January, is responsible for more than 100 courses, including the famed Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, home to one of golf’s most horrifying holes, the island green at the par-three 17th. Whistling Straits, Kiawah’s Ocean Course, and Crooked Stick are just a few of the World Golf Hall of Fame designer’s works.
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35 / 50Chris Trotman // Getty Images
36 / 50Matthew Lewis // Getty Images
37 / 50#14 (tie). Nick Faldo
- Net worth: $60 million
Nick Faldo dominated the golf world in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, and for his career amassed 30 European Tour wins and six major championships—three Open Championships and three Masters. He was the top-ranked golfer in the world for nearly two full years from 1992–94, the third-longest reign in history, and his six majors are the most by a European player since World War I. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1997, was knighted in 2009, and currently serves as a golf analyst.
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38 / 50Ross Kinnaird // Getty Images
39 / 50Stuart Franklin // Getty Images
40 / 50#11. Sergio Garcia
- Net worth: $70 million
Sergio Garcia notched his first career PGA win in 2001 at the MasterCard Colonial and has 25 wins since on both the PGA and European Tours. Long tagged as the best player to never win a major, Garcia finally broke through at The Masters in 2017, beating Justin Rose on the first playoff hole for his only major victory. He ranks third and 10th on the all-time European and PGA Tour money lists, respectively.
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41 / 50Jed Jacobsohn // Getty Images
42 / 50#9. Ernie Els
- Net worth: $85 million
Ernie Els picked up his first PGA Tour victory in a 20-hole playoff in the U.S. Open in 1994—the first of his four majors. Els was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011 and shocked the golfing world a year later by winning the 2012 Open Championship, erasing a four-shot deficit with four holes to play. On top of the nearly $50 million he’s earned on the PGA Tour, the South African is among the highest-paid golfers in endorsements annually, earning $14 million in 2013 alone.
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43 / 50#8. Jordan Spieth
- Net worth: $100 million
Jordan Spieth had a historic year in 2015, just three years after turning pro, winning The Masters and U.S. Open while finishing second at the PGA Championship. The $10 million he brought home for winning the FedEx Cup pushed him past $50 million earned in just 2015 alone thanks to sponsorships with Under Armour, AT&T, and Titleist. Spieth’s last victory came in 2017 at The Open Championship, beating Matt Kuchar by three strokes after nearly collapsing.
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44 / 50#7. Fred Couples
- Net worth: $120 million
Fred Couples won 15 PGA Tour events over the course of his Hall of Fame career, during which he reached #1 in the world and had two video games named after him. Couples won The Masters in 1992 for his lone major victory, although he added two more on the Champions Tour. One of the longest hitters on tour, back injuries plagued “Boom Boom” much of his career, though he nearly won the Masters in 2010 at age 50.
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45 / 50David Cannon // Getty Images
46 / 50David Cannon // Getty Images
47 / 50Michael Reaves // Getty Images
48 / 50#3 (tie). Phil Mickelson
- Net worth: $400 million
Phil Mickelson is one of the world’s highest-paid athletes, bringing home $37 million in endorsement money in 2019 alone. His 44 PGA Tour victories and five major championships have helped him reach #2 on the all-time earnings list at $91 million. A three-time Masters champ, Lefty added $9 million more to his net worth in 2018, defeating Tiger Woods in “The Match,” a pay-per-view, one-on-one showdown.
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49 / 50Andrew Redington // Getty Images
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