Jon Rahm achieves impressive career earnings landmark in the WM Phoenix Open despite not winning

Jon Rahm didn't finish atop the WM Phoenix Open leaderboard as he continues his pursuit of the OWGR leaderboard's top ranking, which had been held by Rory McIlroy. He finished third at -14 for the tournament, five shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler (the world No. 2 before the tournament).

Scheffler's performance got him back atop the leaderboard, with McIlroy falling to second and Rahm coming in at third.

Rahm may not have won the tournament, but what he did do will probably suffice in place of a victory. He became a PGA Tour player that only 25 other players can also say they are: a $40 million-winning golfer.

Rahm entered the tournament just shy of the mark at $39,908,792 career earnings. His solo third-place finish earned him more than enough to surpass the $40 million mark.

He achieved this feat in just 136 starts, which is a blazing fast opening to his career. Tiger Woods needed 146 starts to break the $40 million barrier. Rory McIlroy needed 144.

Jon Rahm may not have the same pedigree as those two do, but it's clear he belongs in the conversation. It does help that there's more money flowing in the PGA Tour now than when Woods and McIlroy were starting out, but it's a very impressive feat nonetheless.

Here are a few other golfers who are close to this feat:

• Brooks Koepka, $37,987,257
• Kevin Na, $37, 819,638
• Luke Donald, $37,206,401
• Patrick Reed, $37,065,581
• Paul Casey, $36,620,072
• Rory Sabbatini, $35,987,416
• Marc Leishman, $35,216,825
• Keegan Bradley, $35,310,731

Unfortunately, Koepka, Na, Donald, Casey, Reed and Lieshman defected to LIV Golf. Their career earnings will certainly skyrocket past $40 million as a result, but it won't count on this list.

With Rahm now on the list, here are all the golfers who have achieved this mark on the PGA Tour:

1. Tiger Woods, $120,895,206
2. Phil Mickelson, $94,955,060
3. Dustin Johnson, $74,897,059
4. Jim Furyk, $71,507,269
5. Vijay Singh, $71,236,216
6. Rory McIlroy, $68,173,835
7. Adam Scott, $60,160,624
8. Justin Rose, $59,239,372
9. Matt Kuchar, $55,524,647
10. Jordan Spieth, $53,728,295
11. Sergio Garcia, $54,433,395
12. Justin Thomas, $52,254,009
13. Jason Day, $52,004,420
14. Ernie Els, $49,339,400
15. Bubba Watson, $48,049,778
16. Zach Johnson, $47,919,845
17. Davis Love III, $44,959,243
18. Steve Stricker, $44,936,354
19. Webb Simpson, $44,260,188
20. Rickie Fowler, $43,069,966
21. Stewart Cink, $42,994,598
22. Charles Howell III, $42,025,458
23. David Toms, $41,901,709
24. Jon Rahm, $41,288,792
25. Hideki Matsuyama, $41,062,162
26. Brandt Snedeker, $40,539,179

This is good company for Rahm to be in, to say the least (earnings via Golf Digest).

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Can Jon Rahm get to the top of the OWGR leaderboard this year?

Jon Rahm has been atop the OWGR leaderboard before. He spent 43 weeks as the world's top-ranked golfer in 2020. He has since fallen, but not far.

Arguably, the drop can be more closely attributed to Scheffler and McIlroy playing better than Rahm playing poorly.

Jon Rahm earned $40 million in his career

Nevertheless, he trails those two. On the leaderboard right now, Rahm has an average of 8.3 points. McIlroy is at 8.6 and Scheffler is at an incredible 9.1, so Rahm has ways to go.

However, he is over 1.5 points above fourth-placed Cameron Smith, who's on LIV Golf, so Rahm is probably safe from dropping below three.