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GOLF · 1998-99 SEASON

The 1998-99 golf money list

$46,876,431 won by 60 players in the 1998-99 season. Tiger Woods led it on $6,816,585.

The season is up 63.2% on 1997-98, and is the 28th biggest of the 47 seasons we hold. It is 0.5% of every dollar the tour has paid the golfers we hold, and the four majors accounted for 13.8% of it.

PAID OUT $46.9m
TOP EARNER $6.8m
PLAYERS PAID 60
OVER $1M 17
FROM THE MAJORS 13.8%

The twenty biggest earners of 1998-99

Prize money won across the season

60 players paid

Tiger Woods $6.8m Davis Love III $2.5m Vijay Singh $2.3m Justin Leonard $2.1m David Toms $2.0m Carlos Franco $1.9m Jim Furyk $1.9m Phil Mickelson $1.7m Ernie Els $1.7m Fred Funk $1.7m Fred Couples $1.6m Tim Herron $1.5m Tom Lehman $1.5m Mike Weir $1.5m Stuart Appleby $1.4m Bob Estes $1.4m Stewart Cink $1.3m Sergio Garcia $905k Olin Browne $879k José María Olazábal $865k

Where the 1998-99 money came from

Every dollar on this list, by what paid it

Three sources

  • Tour purses 81.5%
  • The four majors 13.8%
  • Bonus pools 4.7%
  • LIV Golf 0.0%

LIV Golf did not exist in 1998-99 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

1998-99 against 1997-98

1997-98 comparison

# Player 1997-98 rank 1997-98 1998-99
01 Tiger Woods 02 $2.2m $6,816,585$6.8m
02 Davis Love III 07 $1.7m $2,475,328$2.5m
03 Vijay Singh 01 $2.5m $2,283,233$2.3m
04 Justin Leonard 06 $1.8m $2,097,116$2.1m
05 David Toms 15 $640k $1,964,397$2.0m
06 Carlos Franco 36 $46k $1,909,084$1.9m
07 Jim Furyk 03 $2.1m $1,902,593$1.9m
08 Phil Mickelson 05 $1.8m $1,722,681$1.7m
09 Ernie Els 13 $764k $1,710,756$1.7m
10 Fred Funk 10 $1.1m $1,658,381$1.7m

A blank in the 1997-98 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 1998-99 golf money list

Every player we hold a 1998-99 prize figure for

60 players

# Player Tour purses Majors Bonuses Career rank 1998-99
001 Tiger Woods United States $5.7m $957k $200k 5 $6,816,585$6.8m
002 Davis Love III United States $1.9m $586k 49 $2,475,328$2.5m
003 Vijay Singh Fiji $2.0m $240k 26 $2,283,233$2.3m
004 Justin Leonard United States $1.6m $399k $76k 80 $2,097,116$2.1m
005 David Toms United States $2.0m $5k 65 $1,964,397$2.0m
006 Carlos Franco Paraguay $1.7m $168k $44k 247 $1,909,084$1.9m
007 Jim Furyk United States $1.6m $268k $75k 24 $1,902,593$1.9m
008 Phil Mickelson United States $1.2m $502k 6 $1,722,681$1.7m
009 Ernie Els South Africa $1.7m $53k 42 $1,710,756$1.7m
010 Fred Funk United States $1.6m $6k $19k 123 $1,658,381$1.7m
011 Fred Couples United States $716k $53k $810k 93 $1,579,192$1.6m
012 Tim Herron United States $1.4m $149k 151 $1,511,202$1.5m
013 Tom Lehman United States $1.4m $65k $67k 124 $1,502,564$1.5m
014 Mike Weir Canada $1.4m $87k $6k 100 $1,497,014$1.5m
015 Stuart Appleby Australia $1.4m 98 $1,359,724$1.4m
016 Bob Estes United States $1.0m $323k 134 $1,357,618$1.4m
017 Stewart Cink United States $1.0m $254k $5k 57 $1,260,450
018 Sergio Garcia Spain $407k $378k $120k 10 $904,917
019 Olin Browne United States $816k $18k $44k 269 $878,831
020 José María Olazábal Spain $145k $720k 202 $865,167
021 Jonathan Kaye United States $845k $7k 233 $851,676
022 Jay Haas United States $433k $264k $55k 166 $751,861
023 Paul Goydos United States $608k $87k 200 $695,052
024 Steve Stricker United States $515k $148k 52 $662,461
025 Rich Beem United States $604k $7k $6k 246 $616,430
026 Jerry Kelly United States $501k $33k $5k 97 $538,252
027 John Daly United States $169k $18k $327k 212 $513,215
028 Omar Uresti United States $405k $11k 376 $416,201
029 Rory Sabbatini Slovakia $381k $19k 74 $400,822
030 Jay Don Blake United States $390k $9k 327 $398,890
031 Dicky Pride United States $381k $9k 321 $390,165
032 Lee Westwood England $178k $206k 70 $384,097
033 Greg Chalmers Australia $363k 223 $362,635
034 Craig Barlow United States $327k 333 $327,393
035 Robert Allenby Australia $309k $12k 103 $321,506
036 Neal Lancaster United States $283k $31k 309 $314,640
037 Michael Bradley United States $258k 325 $257,525
038 Ángel Cabrera Argentina $167k $50k 205 $217,480
039 Cameron Beckman United States $147k $25k 250 $172,036
040 Bernhard Langer Germany $31k $131k 201 $162,257
041 Chris Couch United States $122k 362 $121,752
042 Chris Smith United States $109k $8k $4k 339 $120,794
043 Padraig Harrington Ireland $30k $21k $63k 94 $113,991
044 Brian Gay United States $74k $25k 118 $99,329
045 Bo Van Pelt United States $70k 121 $70,080
046 K.J. Choi South Korea $20k $11k $25k 89 $56,457
047 Retief Goosen South Africa $54k 90 $54,368
048 Ted Purdy United States $47k $4k 289 $50,660
049 Steve Allan Australia $26k 386 $26,343
050 Jerry Smith United States $25k 430 $25,000
051 John Rollins United States $25k 153 $25,000
052 Rod Pampling Australia $17k $4k 163 $21,476
053 Jason Gore United States $20k 300 $20,385
054 Mark Wilson United States $13k 177 $12,765
055 Peter Lonard Australia $11k 254 $11,275
056 Chad Campbell United States $11k 108 $11,038
057 Brian Davis England $9k 183 $9,491
058 Alex Cejka Germany $7k 184 $6,800
059 Ryuji Imada Japan $4k 258 $4,000
060 Shane Bertsch United States $4k 419 $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.

1998-99 against every other season

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

47 seasons

Who won it, by country

The 1998-99 money split by the flag on the entry

14 countries

# Country Players paid Top earner Won in 1998-99
01 United States 38 Tiger Woods $34,193,538$34.2m
02 Fiji 1 Vijay Singh $2,283,233$2.3m
03 Australia 6 Stuart Appleby $2,102,959$2.1m
04 Paraguay 1 Carlos Franco $1,909,084$1.9m
05 Spain 2 Sergio Garcia $1,770,084$1.8m
06 South Africa 2 Ernie Els $1,765,124$1.8m
07 Canada 1 Mike Weir $1,497,014$1.5m
08 Slovakia 1 Rory Sabbatini $400,822
09 England 2 Lee Westwood $393,588
10 Argentina 1 Ángel Cabrera $217,480
11 Germany 2 Bernhard Langer $169,057
12 Ireland 1 Padraig Harrington $113,991
13 South Korea 1 K.J. Choi $56,457
14 Japan 1 Ryuji Imada $4,000

Frequently asked questions

Who won the most prize money in golf in 1998-99?

Tiger Woods, $6,816,585. That is 14.5% of everything the 60 players on this list won that season.

How much prize money did golf pay out in 1998-99?

$46,876,431 to 60 players. The season is up 63.2% on 1997-98, and is the 28th biggest of the 47 seasons we hold.

How many golfers won a million dollars in 1998-99?

17 of the 60 paid that season.

What share of 1998-99 golf money came from the majors?

13.8%. Regular tour purses paid 81.5%, bonus pools 4.7%.

Which country won the most golf prize money in 1998-99?

United States, $34,193,538 across 38 players, out of 14 countries paid that season.

Where to next

The seasons either side, the eras and the 1998-99 field

The 1997-98 money list · The 1999-00 money list

Every season

By era

The 1998-99 top sixty

Elsewhere in golf