Jon Rahm has out-earned Rory McIlroy by a significant margin this year. The former Masters champion raked in nearly double the prize money due to his participation in the LIV Golf League rather than the PGA Tour.
Rahm pocketed close to £25million, dwarfing the current Green Jacket holder’s total winnings of approximately £13million. Remarkably, the Spaniard achieved this feat without clinching a single tournament outright. His consistent performance across almost all 20 starts brought him substantial prize money. Rahm’s most lucrative payday arrived when he was crowned the LIV Golf individual champion for the second consecutive season, bagging a whopping £13.4million bonus.
This triumph occurred at LIV Golf Indianapolis, where the Spaniard finished second to Sebastian Munoz, who subsequently won a play-off between the pair. Rahm secured an additional £1.68million as runner-up, meaning he earned more on that Sunday than McIlroy did throughout the entire year.
The Northern Irishman had his share of victories, amassing £9.9million by mid-April after winning the Masters, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players Championship. However, similar success proved elusive following the euphoria of completing the career Grand Slam at Augusta National.
Rahm also enjoyed other significant wins at LIV Golf Riyadh (£1.4million), LIV Golf Andalucia (£1.68million) and LIV Golf Chicago (£1.4million). His second-place finishes at these events – the first and last being ties for that position – netted him nearly another £4.5million.
Despite facing backlash for his move to the LIV Golf League, he is now laughing all the way to the bank two years later. The switch did not hinder his performance for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup, either.
Former captain Paul McGinley criticised the Spaniard’s decision back in May. Speaking to the Golf Channel, he said, “There’s nothing easy in life. Yes, they can say they’ve made a lot of money, but they’re hurting on the other side in terms of coming to these major championships not on the cutting edge, as they would have been had they stayed on the PGA Tour.”
McGinley continued: “Coming back with all the jet lag is not that easy. It’s a whole lot easier staying in one country, then playing the major in that same country. Going to LIV, yes, there’s a lot of upside and they’ve got a lot of money to do so, but because it’s a start-up and they have to travel around the world, it gives a lot of disadvantages when it comes to these major championships. Bar Brooks (Koepka) and Bryson (DeChambeau), the rest have not turned up seriously since they’ve gone to LIV in these major championships.”
Rahm hit back at the time, stating, “Me going to LIV and playing worse in majors had nothing to do with where I was playing golf. My swing was simply not at the level it had to be for me to compete.
“It’s easier to post a score on non-major championship courses and venues, and I think when you get to the biggest stages like this one and these courses, those flaws are going to get exposed, and it did. There have been weeks where I was able to play better, like The Open last year. The Masters obviously, it wasn’t a good start, but it got better as the week went on, and I’m still working and trying to get my swing to a better spot.”