ST. LOUIS — Scottie Scheffler is on the cusp of a PGA Tour record Tiger Woods has held for more than 26 years, one that means next to nothing to the world’s No. 1 player because of so many factors in play.
Scheffler is coming off his 21st career PGA Tour victory, all in the last five years. Last week’s win was worth $3.6 million, the fifth time this year he has earned $2 million or more. That brought him to within $1,034,756 of surpassing Woods on the career earnings list.
He could do that with a three-way tie for third in the BMW Championship. Just don’t look for any sparkling wine, much less a celebration. Prize money began to soar because of Woods, and it spiked with the arrival of LIV Golf. It was a matter of time.
Besides, that’s not the way Scheffler keeps score.
“That has a lot to do with the purses and all that,” Scheffler said Wednesday. “I’m not really too close to him in terms of career wins. What am I, like a fourth of the way there?”
Close enough. Woods is at 82 wins, tied for the all-time record with Sam Snead.
PHOTOS: Scottie Scheffler on the cusp of breaking a PGA Tour mark Tiger Woods has held for 26 years
Money topics at Bellerive Country Club, hosting the BMW Championship for the first time since 2008, is all about 30 players trying to get to East Lake to play for a $40 million purse - $10 million for the winner - and the FedEx Cup.
That’s not a concern for Scheffler, either, or for the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy and a host of others who were among the top 50 in the FedEx Cup to advance to the second FedEx Cup playoffs event.
But it is to Gary Woodland, still recovering from brain surgery and at No. 31 with a chance to reach the Tour Championship for the first time in six years. And it is to 46-year-old Adam Scott, the only player in the field who was at Bellerive for the last BMW Championship.
Getting to East Lake all but assures a spot in all four majors. That’s a big perk, along with the chance to win a $10 million payoff.
“Making the Tour Championship has always been important,” Scott said. “It’s always been a marker of your performance throughout the year.”
There’s a little more at stake for a short list of players - Scheffler, Fitzpatrick, Young, perhaps even McIlroy. No one has really stood out as PGA Tour player of the year. Scheffler moved to the front with his eight-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week. It’s only his second win this year, but it goes along with five runner-up finishes and five other top 4s.
Scheffler has played so well he already is guaranteed the $23 million bonus for leading the FedEx Cup through the BMW Championship. That doesn’t count toward official earnings.
That number stands at $119,964,411. Perhaps another testament to changing times is that Woods earned his last official paycheck in the 2024 Masters ($44,000), moving his total to $120,999,166. Scheffler won the Masters that year and moved to No. 12 at $57,658,464.
So he has made just over $62.3 million in his last 48 tour starts over two years and four months. Great golf. Big money. It was a matter of time.
And it really doesn’t matter to Scheffler.
“Tiger did a lot for the game of golf and he put us in a position where we’re able to earn some pretty good stuff financially, so that’s something we’re very grateful for,” Scheffler said. “When you look at where the purses were at before he came out on tour to where they’re at now is a pretty stark difference. And we’re very thankful for his contributions to the game and hopefully we’ll see him back out here competing again soon.”
Scheffler’s first PGA Tour check was $25,080 for a tie for 43rd at the 2018 St. Jude Classic. Last place at the BMW Championship this week pays $66,000.
The testament to Woods is how long he kept his name atop the career money list.
He took over for Davis Love III - Love was at the top for all of two weeks - when Woods tied for second in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines (total purse was $3 million) on Feb. 13, 2000. Six players in the BMW Championship field weren’t even born then.
Talk of money took Scheffler back to his early days of grinding. He had financial freedom with an endorsement deal he signed with Nike, so there was no concern on entry fees in Monday qualifiers or even gas money to get there. But those were fun times to him.
“Just trying to find my place in the game,” Scheffler said.
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