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GOLF · 1997-98 SEASON

The 1997-98 golf money list

$28,724,432 won by 48 players in the 1997-98 season. Vijay Singh led it on $2,488,998.

The season is up 24.4% on 1996-97, and is the 29th biggest of the 47 seasons we hold. It is 0.3% of every dollar the tour has paid the golfers we hold, and the four majors accounted for 13.0% of it.

PAID OUT $28.7m
TOP EARNER $2.5m
PLAYERS PAID 48
OVER $1M 10
FROM THE MAJORS 13.0%

The twenty biggest earners of 1997-98

Prize money won across the season

48 players paid

Vijay Singh $2.5m Tiger Woods $2.2m Jim Furyk $2.1m Fred Couples $1.9m Phil Mickelson $1.8m Justin Leonard $1.8m Davis Love III $1.7m Tom Lehman $1.5m Steve Stricker $1.3m Fred Funk $1.1m Bob Estes $988k Stewart Cink $859k Ernie Els $764k Stuart Appleby $718k David Toms $640k Lee Westwood $600k Olin Browne $590k Michael Bradley $583k Jay Haas $547k Tim Herron $531k

Where the 1997-98 money came from

Every dollar on this list, by what paid it

Three sources

  • Tour purses 79.0%
  • The four majors 13.0%
  • Bonus pools 8.0%
  • LIV Golf 0.0%

LIV Golf did not exist in 1997-98 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

1997-98 against 1996-97

1996-97 comparison

# Player 1996-97 rank 1996-97 1997-98
01 Vijay Singh 08 $1.2m $2,488,998$2.5m
02 Tiger Woods 01 $2.4m $2,241,117$2.2m
03 Jim Furyk 04 $1.7m $2,054,334$2.1m
04 Fred Couples 14 $548k $1,906,889$1.9m
05 Phil Mickelson 07 $1.3m $1,837,246$1.8m
06 Justin Leonard 03 $1.8m $1,778,323$1.8m
07 Davis Love III 02 $2.1m $1,652,819$1.7m
08 Tom Lehman 06 $1.4m $1,453,673$1.5m
09 Steve Stricker 27 $174k $1,313,948
10 Fred Funk 13 $590k $1,128,488

A blank in the 1996-97 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 1997-98 golf money list

Every player we hold a 1997-98 prize figure for

48 players

# Player Tour purses Majors Bonuses Career rank 1997-98
001 Vijay Singh Fiji $1.6m $594k $250k 26 $2,488,998$2.5m
002 Tiger Woods United States $1.4m $423k $400k 5 $2,241,117$2.2m
003 Jim Furyk United States $1.7m $332k 24 $2,054,334$2.1m
004 Fred Couples United States $1.3m $346k $257k 93 $1,906,889$1.9m
005 Phil Mickelson United States $1.7m $152k 6 $1,837,246$1.8m
006 Justin Leonard United States $1.6m $115k $107k 80 $1,778,323$1.8m
007 Davis Love III United States $1.4m $189k $112k 49 $1,652,819$1.7m
008 Tom Lehman United States $909k $124k $420k 124 $1,453,673$1.5m
009 Steve Stricker United States $871k $443k 52 $1,313,948
010 Fred Funk United States $1.1m $26k $6k 123 $1,128,488
011 Bob Estes United States $953k $35k 134 $987,930
012 Stewart Cink United States $726k $107k $25k 57 $858,898
013 Ernie Els South Africa $658k $106k 42 $763,783
014 Stuart Appleby Australia $653k $64k 98 $717,962
015 David Toms United States $524k $111k $5k 65 $639,973
016 Lee Westwood England $494k $105k 70 $599,586
017 Olin Browne United States $572k $18k 269 $590,240
018 Michael Bradley United States $553k $24k $6k 325 $583,001
019 Jay Haas United States $439k $76k $31k 166 $546,954
020 Tim Herron United States $512k $14k $6k 151 $531,073
021 John Daly United States $367k $27k $101k 212 $494,940
022 Jay Don Blake United States $399k $6k 327 $405,305
023 Paul Goydos United States $354k $14k 200 $368,413
024 Neal Lancaster United States $347k 309 $346,563
025 Jerry Kelly United States $340k 97 $340,144
026 Omar Uresti United States $281k $9k 376 $289,847
027 Mike Weir Canada $219k $56k 100 $275,017
028 Bernhard Langer Germany $127k $15k $124k 201 $265,715
029 Robert Allenby Australia $118k $74k $25k 103 $216,867
030 Chris Smith United States $185k $25k 339 $209,933
031 José María Olazábal Spain $63k $146k 202 $208,486
032 Jonathan Kaye United States $86k $38k 233 $123,996
033 Craig Barlow United States $98k $25k 333 $123,111
034 Padraig Harrington Ireland $5k $18k $63k 94 $85,852
035 Dicky Pride United States $28k $25k 321 $52,680
036 Carlos Franco Paraguay $21k $25k 247 $46,079
037 Greg Chalmers Australia $10k $27k 223 $37,180
038 Brian Gay United States $25k 118 $25,000
039 Cameron Beckman United States $25k 250 $25,000
040 Chris Couch United States $25k 362 $25,000
041 Ted Purdy United States $25k 289 $25,000
042 Shaun Micheel United States $9k $4k 259 $12,918
043 Retief Goosen South Africa $11k 90 $11,000
044 J.J. Henry United States $7k $4k 161 $10,871
045 Freddie Jacobson Sweden $9k 148 $8,965
046 Steve Allan Australia $7k 386 $6,983
047 Chad Campbell United States $4k 108 $4,332
048 Charlie Wi South Korea $4k 242 $4,000

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.

1997-98 against every other season

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

47 seasons

Who won it, by country

The 1997-98 money split by the flag on the entry

12 countries

# Country Players paid Top earner Won in 1997-98
01 United States 33 Tiger Woods $22,987,959$23.0m
02 Fiji 1 Vijay Singh $2,488,998$2.5m
03 Australia 4 Stuart Appleby $978,992
04 South Africa 2 Ernie Els $774,783
05 England 1 Lee Westwood $599,586
06 Canada 1 Mike Weir $275,017
07 Germany 1 Bernhard Langer $265,715
08 Spain 1 José María Olazábal $208,486
09 Ireland 1 Padraig Harrington $85,852
10 Paraguay 1 Carlos Franco $46,079
11 Sweden 1 Freddie Jacobson $8,965
12 South Korea 1 Charlie Wi $4,000

Frequently asked questions

Who won the most prize money in golf in 1997-98?

Vijay Singh, $2,488,998. That is 8.7% of everything the 48 players on this list won that season.

How much prize money did golf pay out in 1997-98?

$28,724,432 to 48 players. The season is up 24.4% on 1996-97, and is the 29th biggest of the 47 seasons we hold.

How many golfers won a million dollars in 1997-98?

10 of the 48 paid that season.

What share of 1997-98 golf money came from the majors?

13.0%. Regular tour purses paid 79.0%, bonus pools 8.0%.

Which country won the most golf prize money in 1997-98?

United States, $22,987,959 across 33 players, out of 12 countries paid that season.

Where to next

The seasons either side, the eras and the 1997-98 field

The 1996-97 money list · The 1998-99 money list

Every season

By era

The 1997-98 top sixty

Elsewhere in golf