Those who made the contentious move and have chosen to compete on the Saudi-funded series are set to once again compete for eye-watering sums of money across the 14-event campaign as another season of LIV Golf beckons.
The inaugural season in 2022 included eight competitions. Prior to the season conclusion at the team championship, where the 12 teams competed for an incredible £42 million ($50 million), the first seven events featured 48-man fields competing for £21 million ($25 million).
With Greg Norman and company adding an additional six tournaments to their expanded 2023 schedule, there is even more money to be made this time around.
Now, the majority of those participating are not short of a few dollars, particularly the team captains who have already amassed millions of dollars working on the PGA Tour, the LIV’s main rival. With more money being offered than ever before, the 12 skippers already have a combined net value of £670 million, but this number is only going to rise.
Phil Mickelson, dubbed LIV Golf’s “richest man,” is one of the most recognizable golfers in history. Mickelson made a name for himself as one of golf’s best and richest players throughout his tenure by winning 54 PGA Tour events and nearly £90 million in prize money.
However, the American has controversially abandoned the PGA Tour after switching to Saudi Arabia and launching an assault on the circuit where he spent nearly all of his professional career. The fact that Mickelson has acknowledged he is “at peace” with never again competing on the PGA Tour may have something to do with the rumored £166 million signing bonus he received from LIV Golf.
The third-highest scorer on the PGA Tour all-time, after Phil Mickelson and the legendary Tiger Woods, is Dustin Johnson. Johnson also made a line in the sand with the PGA Tour and decided to instead rely on the wealth of LIV Golf, much like Mickelson did.
The winner of the 2020 Masters has undeniably reaped the benefits ever since, having been named the first-ever individual and team champion of the breakaway tour in 2022. Johnson won just under £30 million as a result of this in just eight competitions.
Brooks Koepka is another PGA Tour veteran who recently made the decision to play in Saudi Arabia. After a remarkable stretch of play at the end of the 2010s and the beginning of the 2020s, during which he won four major championships, the American became one of golf’s most recognizable figures.
The American star first earned his fortune doing this, and he has since only added to it after winning just shy of £7 million in his debut season with LIV Golf in 2022.
European stalwart Sergio Garcia has a comparable build as Koepka. The fiery Spanish was one of the most contentious athletes to sign with LIV Golf, and he did not depart from the PGA Tour without a fight. He won the Masters in 2017 and is best known for serving as Team Europe’s captain during their Ryder Cup matches against the USA.
No time was this more evident than when the always contentious Spaniard joined LIV Golf. However, he is currently enjoying the benefits of the wealth on the breakaway tour, much like his fellow rebels.
Ian Poulter, Garcia’s dependable partner from Europe, is up next. Poulter has been a thorn in the Americans’ Ryder Cup strategy, much like the Spanish player, and his move to LIV Golf only inflamed tensions. His 12 DP World Tour victories have all occurred in Europe, where he has found the bulk of his success.
The Team Majesticks captain admitted in Netflix’s recent PGA Tour docuseries “Full Swing” that his decision to join the Saudi-funded series was a “business move,” but an offer from LIV Golf was obviously too good for him to pass up.
The Open champion Cameron Smith, who is listed sixth, is undoubtedly LIV Golf’s most significant acquisition. Only a few weeks after winning the prestigious title at St. Andrews, Smith took the contentious decision to join fellow Australian Norman on the breakaway tour.
Just over £2 million went to him for his first major success in Scotland last summer, but he went on to earn over $1 million more from his first-ever LIV Golf victory after winning £3.3 million in Chicago.
South African star Louis Oosthuizen is another Open winner who has sought the riches of Saudi Arabia. Oosthuizen claimed the Claret Jug in 2010 and has since emerged as one of the game’s most dependable players. The South African’s net worth has increased to more than £35 million as a result of an outstanding 22 victories and a recent switch to LIV Golf.
After announcing the formation of the “Range Goats” earlier this month, Bubba Watson will assume charge of one of LIV Golf’s reformed teams for 2023. Watson, who has been a regular on the PGA Tour in recent years, is best known for winning the Masters twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Prior to being suspended from the PGA Tour, Watson earned a respectable £40 million from playing golf on the American circuit. However, the Saudi-funded circuit allegedly offered Watson £41.5 million to sign a contract.
Kevin Na is another Golf Tour veteran who switched to Saudi Arabia. The 39-year-old, who was the first celebrity to confirm his defection to the breakaway league ahead of their inaugural event last summer, is undoubtedly LIV Golf’s forerunner.
Being the rebel No. 1, Na naturally encountered a variety of opposition; however, the impact has undoubtedly been lessened by his projected earnings through 2022. The 39-year-old earned a convenient £1.7 million from just eight LIV tournaments during their inaugural season as a consequence.
Martin Kaymer, a previous world number one, has achieved great success in the golf industry. Kaymer has accumulated 25 competitive victories over the course of his career, including three on the PGA Tour and 11 on the DP World Tour.
Success, of course, brings cash reward, and the German has only increased that since joining LIV Golf in the footsteps of his former Ryder Cup teammates Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia. Given that Kaymer’s job is undoubtedly nearing its conclusion rather than its beginning, the German is undoubtedly eager to earn a few more significant sums of money before hanging up his c
from a man who is close to the end of his work to someone who is really just getting started. Joaquin Niemann is the youngest squad captain among the 12 in LIV Golf, but that does not mean he lacks the skills and resources to outperform his more senior teammates.
Niemann, who had established himself as one of the hottest players in the world, was a significant acquisition for Norman and his squad. The Chilean, who is only 24 years old, already has a net worth of £16.5 million, and this number is only expected to rise as he approaches his first complete season with LIV Golf.
Last but not least, Bryson DeChambeau is another skipper of LIV who is younger but unquestionably one of the most well-known. DeChambeau, also known as “the scientist,” has more than established himself in the world of professional golf over the course of a comparatively brief but eventful career.
Most significantly, the American rose to prominence as one of golf’s top players in recent years, revolutionizing the sport’s hard-hitting but methodical style of play. Along with his efforts on the course, he also established himself as a recognizable figure because of his infamously bitter rivalry with fellow LIV skipper Koepka.
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