Scottie Scheffler may have dominated 2024 with seven victories, but the early months of 2025 told a different story. Despite being the world’s top-ranked golfer, he struggled to reclaim the winner’s circle, watching near-misses pile up while the expectations mounted.

Until April, Scheffler’s best finish was a runner-up at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, a performance that earned him $845,000 but left him frustrated. He also notched a T3 at the Genesis Invitational and a fourth-place finish at the Masters, each bringing in around $1 million, but the elusive win remained just out of reach.

That all changed in May. On the 4th, Scheffler broke through at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, pocketing $1.7 million and ending his drought. The momentum didn’t stop there—just weeks later, he captured the PGA Championship, adding another $3.4 million to his tally. From that point on, he found his stride, racking up three more victories and a string of top-10 finishes to reassert his dominance on Tour.

The Drama Slayer’s resurgence had paid handsomely. Through 19 events in 2025, Scheffler has amassed $26.5 million in prize money alone. On top of that, he secured a $15 million FedEx Cup bonus and an additional $8 million for finishing in the season’s top 10, bringing his total earnings to $49.4 million.

Even with nearly $50 million in 2025 earnings, Scottie Scheffler still fell short of his record-shattering 2024 total of $70 million, the highest single-year haul in golf history. Yet, his ability to rebound from a shaky start with five wins and another season atop the money list once again proved his dominance.

But Scheffler wasn’t the only headline earner this year. Another familiar face made waves with a career-defining leap, overtaking Rory McIlroy on the money list after the TOUR Championship.

After Scottie Scheffler, a new name popped up on the money list

For much of the season, McIlroy held strong in second place among the Tour’s top money leaders. That changed on August 24th, when Tommy Fleetwood delivered a historic breakthrough. With his long-awaited first PGA Tour victory, Fleetwood pocketed a massive $10 million payday that vaulted him into the No. 2 spot. Remarkably, he earned nearly as much in 2025 as he had in his entire career on the PGA Tour up to that point (majors excluded).

By the close of 2024, the Englishman had collected $28 million in career earnings. In 2025 alone, however, Fleetwood raked in $22 million—$18 million from official payouts, $2 million from the FedEx Cup bonus, $2.2 million from the Tour’s top-10 bonus, and another $455,934 from major championships.

Fleetwood’s consistency finally paid off in the form of a long-awaited victory, and the ripple effect can be clearly seen in his earnings. This made him earn praises from other golf legends, like Tiger Woods. Though he still trails Scheffler by $6 million, his climb into second place signals a new chapter in his career. With Scheffler’s dominance holding strong, the question now is whether Fleetwood—or anyone else—can challenge him for the top spot in 2026.