Scottie Scheffler has shattered the record for on-course earnings by a professional golfer (not including bonuses) for a single year.
Scheffler is the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to win six PGA Tour events before the end of June. And given that his success comes during the most lucrative time in golf history, he is raking in the dough like nobody ever before.
Now at $27,696,858 for the year, Scheffler has feasted by winning five signature events plus the Masters. His Players Championship victory earned him $4.5 million while the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament wins were worth $4 million each. Triumphs at the Masters, RBC Heritage and Travelers Championship netted him a total of $3.6 million.
The previous record for on-course earnings outside of bonuses came last season when Scheffler made $21,014,342. The year before that (2021-2022), Scheffler also set the record at $14,046,910.
With all of this money, Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, is unofficially breaking every caddie earnings record.
Ted Scott Is Making More On-Course Money Than Jordan Spieth
Scott, Bubba Watson’s former looper, started caddying for Scheffler at the beginning of 2022.
That was a sound decision. Scheffler has since won 12 times, including two majors.
This season, it’s estimated that Scott has made somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.6 million. He will likely finish the season over $3 million and possibly well beyond that.
Caddie earnings are unofficial and not public information. It comes down to an agreement between the player and caddie, although there are some generally accepted rates in place.
Winning a tournament typically results in players giving 10 percent of their earnings to the caddie. Just based on that assumption, Scott has made about $2.3 million over the course of Scheffler’s six victories this year.
Most caddie rates drop to somewhere around seven percent for top-10 finishes and five percent for everything else, although it’s entirely possible Scheffler and Scott could have a different arrangement. Even conservative estimates would have Scott over $2.6 million for the year.
Here are some of the players who have likely made less money than Scott this year:
- Jordan Spieth ($2.5 million)
- Davis Riley ($2.4 million)
- Eric Cole ($1.9 million)
- Adam Schenk ($1.8 million)
- Adam Scott ($1.7 million)
Keep in mind that all of these players are above Tour average for earnings (right about $1.5 million as of this writing).
If you consider all golfers who have competed in at least one Tour event this season, caddie Scott is making more money than 80 percent of them. His $2.6 million would put him in the top 50 of players earning money this season.
How Much Money Could Ted Scott Make This Year?
The season is not over. Scheffler still has a few lucrative events to play.
At a minimum, he has the Open Championship and three FedEx Cup Playoff events on his calendar. Scheffler will also likely have a two-stroke lead over everyone at the Tour Championship due to that event’s staggered scoring method. If he were to win just that tournament, he would walk away with $18 million, including bonuses. Don’t forget that the other two playoff events award $4 million each to the winner. The Open Championship winner made $3 million last year.
The odds would say Scheffler’s on-course earnings without bonuses will exceed $35 million by the end of the season. With bonuses, he could easily break $50 million.
How that translates into caddie money is unclear but Scott is on pace to be well above $3 million by the time this year ends.
Our friend Talor Gooch made more than $42 million including bonuses on LIV during the 2023 season, so I’m sure his caddie, Australian Mal Baker, has done very well for himself.
Scott, however, is certainly on pace to shatter what Baker made last year.
It’s great work if you can get it. And, it should be pointed out, Scott has earned it. He helped Watson win two green jackets and now he has done the same for Scheffler. When Scott had to step away for Round Three of the PGA Championship, Scheffler played some of his worst golf of the season.
Scott is a great caddie—and he’s getting handsomely rewarded for it.
Top Photo Caption: Ted Scott caddies for Scottie Scheffler at the U.S. Open (Getty Images/Tracy Wilcox)
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