Legends of PGA Tour: What Are the Career Earnings of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer?

Golf enjoys a worldwide popularity today that hasn’t always been afforded to the sport. The credit for this can be given to a handful of people who not only popularized it but also created a global market for it. Of these, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer are two of the biggest examples. Gary Player joined them to comprise the big three of golf, associated with promoting golf.

Nicklaus and Palmer are both highly decorated. The former boasts of 73 PGA Tour wins, while the latter has a massive 62. These high numbers undoubtedly came with high earnings, let’s find out the details.

Today, the purse size for a tournament ranges from $7-9 million and the winners share is well over a million. In comparison, the average purse during the times 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s was around $500,000, and the winner’s share was less than $50,000. These numbers speak volume about the disparity in earnings (and a bit about inflation) and if their achievements took place today, they’d be billionaires.

How much has Jack Nicklaus made in his glorious career?

Jack Nicklaus has bagged 18 major titles and this number has not even come close to being challenged. Tiger Woods, second on the list, still has three more to catch up to the veteran. And if you’ve been following up on his life, you’ll know that at least for now, this seems unlikely. So, can you even imagine the kind of earnings that came Nicklaus’ way after his feat?

Well, he has won a total of $784,500, with the highest $144,ooo coming from his last Masters win in 1986. And after rough calculation, Jack Nicklaus’ total prize money earning on the PGA Tour would amount to a little less than $3 million. However, his total net worth is $400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

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Arnold Palmer’s total PGA Tour earnings

Roughly calculated, Arnold Palmer has earned a little more than $2 million in prize money earnings on the PGA Tour. That is less than the winner’s payout at a major championship in 2021. However, he was the PGA tour leading money winner in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1963.

His net worth is currently $700 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Most of his earnings came from sponsorships and endorsements and his other ventures. Even after his death, his estate continues to make a good sum from them.

Of course, these numbers are miniscule in contrast to the hefty sums pocketed by the professionals today. But credit goes to these early golfers who increased the market size, brought in multinational companies and attracted the interests of millions of people, even outside of America. Do you agree?

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