Rory McIlroy will go down as one of the greatest golfers if and when he decides to hang up his boots. The Northern Irishman has 22 PGA Tour wins, 14 European Tour victories, and four majors to his name. Apart from his impressive resume, he has also been the face of the PGA Tour for the past few months.
McIlroy is one of the most decorated golfers of all time. He is also among the richest. While many of his rivals recently defected to the newly introduced LIV Golf series for hefty paychecks, McIlroy decided to stay and play on for the PGA Tour. Not only did he stay, but McIlroy has also been actively speaking out against the Saudi-backed series.
The Irish golfer’s decision to stay on the PGA Tour paid off on Sunday as he won the FedEx Cup. Rory McIlroy defeated world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in the final round to become the trophy’s first-ever three-time winner.
The golfer received an $18 million check for winning the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, making it his biggest win to date. The $18 million prize took McIlroy’s PGA Tour earnings to over $26 million for the season.
Rory McIlroy’s biggest win on the PGA Tour
Rory McIlroy might have climbed the list of the highest-paid golfers owing to his recent win. The 33-year-old came into the 2022 tournament having banked more than $64 million in on-course earnings.
It is pertinent to note that only Tiger Woods was above McIlroy in PGA Tour’s earnings ranking, as others like Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk defected to LIV Golf.
McIlroy has recorded 27 top-10 finishes in majors in his career. He has pocketed several big checks in his decade-long career. The ace golfer’s biggest payday before the 2022 FedEx Cup was in 2019, when he bagged a $15 million check for winning the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup.
McIlroy has averaged $10 million in earnings from the pitch in the previous years.
Apart from the on-course earnings, Rory McIlroy has earned a sum from other sources. In 2019, the golfer teamed up with NBC Sports to launch GolfPass, a digital subscription service for golfers.
The GolfPass platform, which took many on board, costs $99 per year in the US. McIlroy, arguably the most celebrated European golfer on the PGA Tour, increased his career earnings through sponsorships and endorsements. According to Celebrity Net Worth, McIlroy has a net worth of $170 million as of July 2022.
Rory McIlroy announces TGL
Notably, Rory McIlroy and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced a structural overhaul to the existing Tour last week. Only a week after McIlroy and Tiger Woods held an important players-only meeting, the new changes will see the Tour get an increased prize purse.
Besides this, McIlroy and Woods also announced the launch of a tech-infused Monday night golf league called TGL. According to the makers, the TGL headed by Woods and McIlroy will bring forth a special stadium-style team golf event.
It will be an add-on competition to the American Tour, with 15 two-hour-long, 18-hole, regular-season matches. As per the renderings released by the makers, the venue for the new-age event will be virtual with a simulator.
While speaking about TGL, McIlroy said that TMRW Sports CEO Mike McCarley contacted him about the same. According to McIlroy, the event will be televised along with a feature for fans to bet on matches.
The virtually interactive mode of the sport is expected to incite interest among the younger generations. It is pertinent to note that McIlroy and Woods will bag a considerable sum for their association with the ambitious project.