"This Year's Prize Money King is McIlroy"… The Undisputed Ruler with '56.9 Billion'

US Tennis World Analyzes Golf Player Earnings
Johnson Choosing LIV Earns More Than 47.2 Billion Won
Seizes Wealth and Fame Up to World No. 1 Ranking

Lori McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is holding the trophy after winning the final round of the PGA Tour Championship with a score of 21 under par 263 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, last August.
[Image source Reuters=Yonhap News]

World No. 1 male golfer Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) earned 56.9 billion KRW this year, making him the highest-earning golfer worldwide. Despite many PGA Tour players joining the LIV Golf Invitational, which offered large appearance fees and prize money, McIlroy maintained his position, securing both wealth and fame.

On the 28th (Korean time), Tennis World in the U.S. named McIlroy the top money winner of the year, calling him the "undisputed ruler." McIlroy's earnings this year reached $44.8 million (approximately 56.9 billion KRW), surpassing Dustin Johnson (USA), who became the top player in LIV Golf, with total earnings of $37.2 million (about 47.2 billion KRW) this year.

McIlroy earned $10.6 million (about 13.5 billion KRW) in prize money from PGA Tour events this year. This is less than Johnson's $35.6 million (about 45.2 billion KRW) from individual and team event prizes after moving to LIV Golf. However, McIlroy added $18 million (about 22.9 billion KRW) from the PGA Tour FedEx Cup bonus, $2 million (about 2.5 billion KRW) for finishing first in the Race to Dubai, which is the DP World Tour's playoff equivalent, $2.2 million (about 2.8 billion KRW) in DP World Tour event prize money, and $1.2 million (about 1.5 billion KRW) for ranking second in the PGA Tour Player Impact Program (PIP), surpassing Johnson in total earnings.

McIlroy also secured the No. 1 spot in the world rankings this year. In contrast, Johnson dropped from 3rd place last year to 41st, as LIV Golf does not award world ranking points. However, Johnson reportedly received a signing bonus of $150 million (about 190.6 billion KRW) when he moved to LIV Golf, which may have compensated for this setback.

Meanwhile, the top earner in this year's Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Tour prize money rankings was Kim Young-su (33), who earned a total of 791.3 million KRW. In second place was Kim Min-gyu (21) with 761.7 million KRW. Additionally, Kim Bi-o (32) earned 760 million KRW, Jo Min-gyu (34) earned 496.4 million KRW, and Hwang Jung-gon (30) earned 467 million KRW, ranking third to fifth respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.