Scottie Scheffler set to take down one of Tiger Woods’ biggest PGA Tour records

Scottie Scheffler has the chance to become the PGA Tour’s all-time leading money winner this week, with Tiger Woods’ longstanding record now firmly within reach at the BMW Championship.

Scheffler’s dominant eight-shot victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis on Sunday not only delivered his second win of 2026 and the 21st PGA Tour title of his career, but also moved him to within striking distance of Woods’ career earnings mark.

Woods has topped the PGA Tour’s all-time money list since September 2000, eventually topping up his total to a current $120,999,166 in official career earnings. 

Scheffler, meanwhile, has now amassed $119,964,411 after collecting $3.6 million for his victory at TPC Southwind.

That leaves the reigning World No. 1 just $1,034,755 behind one of the most remarkable financial records in golf.

And with the BMW Championship offering a $20 million purse and featuring just 50 players with no cut, the four-time major champion has an excellent opportunity to make history at Bellerive Country Club.

In fact, he can surpass Woods with a solo third-place finish or better this week.

The timing is particularly striking given the sheer scale of prize money available in the modern game. 

Scheffler has played just 163 PGA Tour events as a professional, compared with 364 for Woods and 284 for Rory McIlroy. 

Yet Scheffler has already accumulated almost as much career prize money as Woods.

PGA Tour career earnings - after 2026 FedEx St Jude Championship

The numbers highlight just how dramatically purses have increased. 

Scheffler has averaged approximately $736,000 in official earnings per PGA Tour start, compared with around $410,000 for McIlroy and $332,000 for Woods.

There is, of course, an important caveat.

Comparing raw career earnings across generations is hardly an entirely fair exercise. 

Woods competed during an era when PGA Tour purses were considerably smaller, while the astronomical sums available to today's stars have transformed the money list.

Indeed, Woods' influence is arguably one of the reasons those purses became so large in the first place.

The 15-time major champion and joint record 82-time PGA Tour winner transcended golf during his rise in the late 1990s and dominance throughout the early 2000s. 

Woods' impact dramatically expanded the sport's global audience, television appeal and commercial value.

So while Scheffler may soon take Woods' place at the top of the money list, the significance of the record comes with an obvious twist.

Without any doubt, Woods has helped create the financial landscape that has allowed PGA Tour players a chance to compete for the huge sums they are playing for today, and even bigger sums set to come in 2028. 

Scheffler is not the only player with Woods in his sights. 

McIlroy moved down to third on the all-time list after finishing 66th in Memphis and currently sits on $116,488,372. 

The Northern Irishman remains within realistic range of Woods over the next two weeks, although he will need a significant improvement in form.

The BMW Championship is followed by the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake, where 30 players will compete for a $40 million prize pool. 

Even the top eight finishers are guaranteed at least $1 million. 

For Scheffler though, there is every chance on current form that he will surpass Woods' record this coming weekend. 

After seven runner-up finishes following victory in his first start of the season, Scheffler finally returned to the winner's circle in Memphis at the weekend.

The $3.6 million payday has brought him to the brink of a record that has stood for almost 26 years.

And while the numbers need to be viewed through the context of vastly different eras, there is no denying the significance of what Scheffler could achieve at Bellerive.

Woods has been No. 1 on the PGA Tour money list since 2000.

This week, Scheffler can finally take his place at the top.