Scottie Scheffler has smashed PGA Tour money records and still has £14m left to lose
Scottie Scheffler picked the right time to be the best golfer in the world.
The American heads into the season-ending Tour Championship with one hand on the FedEx Cup, which comes with an astonishing £14million prize for the winner.
That alone is worth more money than Tiger Woods made in any single season on the PGA Tour.
In fact, until this year, no golfer had earned more than £11million in one season.
It was Scheffler who set the new benchmark in 2021/22 - and the world no.1 has already beaten his own record.
The 27-year-old has pocketed £16.5m so far in 2022/23 as a result of two lucrative wins at the Phoenix Open and the Players Championship.
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Despite struggling with the putter and failing to win a major, Scheffler has also made every possible cut this season and recorded 16 top-ten finishes.
And the £14m prize on offer for the winner at East Lake is his to lose.
Players are given a handicapped score, based on their place in the FedEx Cup standings, and Scheffler will start at the top of the leaderboard on ten-under par.
Viktor Hovland will begin on eight-under par, while Scheffler already has a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and a four-stroke advantage over Jon Rahm.
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Should Scheffler win, it will take his earnings for the season over £30m.
Bear in mind that Woods earned around £94m in his entire PGA Tour career - and Scheffler could make a third of that in one season.
Four of the top five most lucrative seasons in PGA Tour history have all come in 2022/23 as a result of increased purses.
The arrival of LIV Golf in 2022 forced the PGA Tour into an arms race to stop its top players from defecting to the mega-rich, Saudi-backed tour.
For years, Jordan Spieth's incredible 2014/15 season was the most lucrative in history, as the golfer racked up more than £9m.
However, McIlroy, Rahm and Hovland have all earned more than £10m this term - and all three can rival Scheffler for the top prize this weekend.
Listen to live coverage of the Tour Championship on talkSPORT 2, starting at 5pm on Thursday!