How do you compare players from different era’s?
The best way is probably number of wins. Below is the list of the top ten.
Player # of PGA Tour Wins Career Span Career Money (# of years) Winnings
Sam Snead 82 30 $712,972
Tiger Woods 79 18 $109,612,414
Jack Nicklaus 73 25 $5,734,031
Ben Hogan 64 22 $332,516
Arnold Palmer 62 19 $1,861,857
Bryon Nelson 52 11 $201,185
Billy Casper 51 20 $1,691,583
Walter Hagen 45 23 –
Phil Mickelson 42 23 $75,298,510
Cary Middlecoff 40 17 $294,818
Many fans use the career money list but this can be misleading. Purses really escalated in the late 1990’s and into the 21st century. Take a look at the purse of the Byron Nelson Championship
Year Total Purse Winner’s Check
1996 $ 1,500,000 $ 270,000
1997 $ 1,800,000 $ 324,000
1998 $ 2,500,000 $ 450,000
1999 $ 3,000,000 $ 540,000
2000 $ 4,000,000 $ 720,000
2001 $ 4,500,000 $ 810,000
2002 $ 4,800,000 $ 864,000
2003 $ 5,600,000 $ 1,008,000
2004 $ 5,800,000 $ 1,044,000
2005 & 2006 $ 6,200,000 $ 1,116,000
2007 $ 6,300,000 $ 1,134,000
2008 $ 6,400,000 $ 1,152,000
2009 thru 2012 $ 6,500,000 $ 1,170,000
2013 $ 6,700,000 $ 1,206,000
2014 $ 6,900,000 $ 1,242,000
If you do the math Brenden Todd, the 2014 winner, took home almost five times as much money as Phil Mickelson did when he won in 1996 and, yet, each player has one win to show for it.
