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GOLF · 1996-97 SEASON

The 1996-97 golf money list

$23,098,598 won by 43 players in the 1996-97 season. Tiger Woods led it on $2,376,833.

The season is up 19.5% on 1995-96, and is the 30th biggest of the 47 seasons we hold. It is 0.2% of every dollar the tour has paid the golfers we hold, and the four majors accounted for 19.6% of it.

PAID OUT $23.1m
TOP EARNER $2.4m
PLAYERS PAID 43
OVER $1M 9
FROM THE MAJORS 19.6%

The twenty biggest earners of 1996-97

Prize money won across the season

43 players paid

Tiger Woods $2.4m Davis Love III $2.1m Justin Leonard $1.8m Jim Furyk $1.7m Ernie Els $1.7m Tom Lehman $1.4m Phil Mickelson $1.3m Vijay Singh $1.2m Stuart Appleby $1.0m Stewart Cink $926k Tim Herron $676k David Toms $607k Fred Funk $590k Fred Couples $548k Michael Bradley $482k Jay Haas $476k Paul Goydos $422k Jay Don Blake $383k Bob Estes $382k Lee Westwood $372k

Where the 1996-97 money came from

Every dollar on this list, by what paid it

Three sources

  • Tour purses 65.2%
  • The four majors 19.6%
  • Bonus pools 15.2%
  • LIV Golf 0.0%

LIV Golf did not exist in 1996-97 and pays nothing into this season. It first paid anybody in 2021-22, and it has taken about a third of the sport's money every season since.

What the top ten did the season before

1996-97 against 1995-96

1995-96 comparison

# Player 1995-96 rank 1995-96 1996-97
01 Tiger Woods 08 $906k $2,376,833$2.4m
02 Davis Love III 05 $1.3m $2,114,453$2.1m
03 Justin Leonard 07 $999k $1,830,031$1.8m
04 Jim Furyk 12 $752k $1,663,824$1.7m
05 Ernie Els 06 $1.1m $1,656,008$1.7m
06 Tom Lehman 01 $2.4m $1,420,584$1.4m
07 Phil Mickelson 02 $1.7m $1,325,390
08 Vijay Singh 09 $855k $1,195,793
09 Stuart Appleby 24 $173k $1,003,356
10 Stewart Cink 26 $149k $925,657

A blank in the 1995-96 column is a player we hold no money for that season, which is usually a rookie year or a year out. Golf money moves harder than a salary does, because none of it is contracted: a player earns what the leaderboard says and nothing else.

The full 1996-97 golf money list

Every player we hold a 1996-97 prize figure for

43 players

# Player Tour purses Majors Bonuses Career rank 1996-97
001 Tiger Woods United States $1.5m $549k $310k 5 $2,376,833$2.4m
002 Davis Love III United States $1.0m $629k $478k 49 $2,114,453$2.1m
003 Justin Leonard United States $797k $791k $243k 80 $1,830,031$1.8m
004 Jim Furyk United States $1.3m $335k $44k 24 $1,663,824$1.7m
005 Ernie Els South Africa $693k $550k $413k 42 $1,656,008$1.7m
006 Tom Lehman United States $657k $303k $460k 124 $1,420,584$1.4m
007 Phil Mickelson United States $1.2m $41k $100k 6 $1,325,390
008 Vijay Singh Fiji $967k $92k $137k 26 $1,195,793
009 Stuart Appleby Australia $931k $72k 98 $1,003,356
010 Stewart Cink United States $762k $47k $116k 57 $925,657
011 Tim Herron United States $606k $35k $35k 151 $675,647
012 David Toms United States $460k $146k 65 $606,659
013 Fred Funk United States $490k $54k $45k 123 $589,576
014 Fred Couples United States $281k $167k $100k 93 $548,385
015 Michael Bradley United States $449k $17k $16k 325 $482,190
016 Jay Haas United States $336k $102k $38k 166 $475,645
017 Paul Goydos United States $365k $31k $26k 200 $421,891
018 Jay Don Blake United States $378k $4k 327 $382,543
019 Bob Estes United States $340k $42k 134 $382,082
020 Lee Westwood England $45k $111k $216k 70 $371,645
021 Olin Browne United States $177k $85k $80k 269 $341,810
022 Padraig Harrington Ireland $105k $213k 94 $317,319
023 Jerry Kelly United States $222k $12k $9k 97 $243,257
024 Omar Uresti United States $204k 376 $203,516
025 Neal Lancaster United States $179k 309 $179,273
026 John Daly United States $93k $14k $72k 212 $179,262
027 Steve Stricker United States $145k $23k $6k 52 $174,068
028 José María Olazábal Spain $56k $117k 202 $173,589
029 Bernhard Langer Germany $45k $114k 201 $158,508
030 Chris Smith United States $114k $6k $26k 339 $146,418
031 Retief Goosen South Africa $45k $35k 90 $80,048
032 Carlos Franco Paraguay $71k $4k 247 $74,950
033 Shane Bertsch United States $73k 419 $73,480
034 Alex Cejka Germany $72k 184 $72,250
035 Robert Allenby Australia $23k $47k 103 $69,990
036 Dicky Pride United States $46k $6k 321 $51,830
037 Peter Lonard Australia $20k $17k $6k 254 $43,417
038 Mike Weir Canada $8k $16k 100 $23,709
039 Shaun Micheel United States $15k 259 $14,519
040 Jonathan Kaye United States $11k 233 $10,693
041 Ángel Cabrera Argentina $10k 205 $10,315
042 Cameron Beckman United States $5k 250 $5,185
043 Chris Couch United States $3k 362 $3,000

The career rank column is where each of these players sits on the all-time money list, which is the fastest way to tell a career year from a career. A player ranked well inside the top fifty on one season and nowhere near it overall had the year of his life.

1996-97 against every other season

What the tour paid the golfers we hold, year by year

47 seasons

Who won it, by country

The 1996-97 money split by the flag on the entry

11 countries

# Country Players paid Top earner Won in 1996-97
01 United States 29 Tiger Woods $17,847,701$17.8m
02 South Africa 2 Ernie Els $1,736,056$1.7m
03 Fiji 1 Vijay Singh $1,195,793
04 Australia 3 Stuart Appleby $1,116,763
05 England 1 Lee Westwood $371,645
06 Ireland 1 Padraig Harrington $317,319
07 Germany 2 Bernhard Langer $230,758
08 Spain 1 José María Olazábal $173,589
09 Paraguay 1 Carlos Franco $74,950
10 Canada 1 Mike Weir $23,709
11 Argentina 1 Ángel Cabrera $10,315

Frequently asked questions

Who won the most prize money in golf in 1996-97?

Tiger Woods, $2,376,833. That is 10.3% of everything the 43 players on this list won that season.

How much prize money did golf pay out in 1996-97?

$23,098,598 to 43 players. The season is up 19.5% on 1995-96, and is the 30th biggest of the 47 seasons we hold.

How many golfers won a million dollars in 1996-97?

9 of the 43 paid that season.

What share of 1996-97 golf money came from the majors?

19.6%. Regular tour purses paid 65.2%, bonus pools 15.2%.

Which country won the most golf prize money in 1996-97?

United States, $17,847,701 across 29 players, out of 11 countries paid that season.

Where to next

The seasons either side, the eras and the 1996-97 field

The 1995-96 money list · The 1997-98 money list

Every season

By era

The 1996-97 top sixty

Elsewhere in golf