Scottie Scheffler’s runaway victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship did more than give him the first playoff trophy of the season. It moved the world No. 1 past Rory McIlroy on the PGA Tour’s official career-money list and placed Tiger Woods’ long-standing mark within immediate reach.
Scheffler closed with a 4-under 66 on Sunday at TPC Southwind, finishing at 17-under 263 and eight shots clear of Si Woo Kim. The victory was his 21st PGA Tour title and came with a $3.6 million first-place check from the $20 million purse.
That check lifted Scheffler to $119,964,411 in official PGA Tour earnings, passing McIlroy, who now stands at $116,488,972 after finishing 66th in Memphis. Woods remains No. 1 at $120,999,166, but Scheffler is only $1,034,755 away.
For a record Woods has held since February 2000, the math is suddenly simple: Scheffler can pass him with another win as soon as next week’s BMW Championship.
Scheffler Turns Tight Sunday Into Memphis Rout
Getty Scottie Scheffler of the United States shakes hands with Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland after their round on the 18th green during the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2026 at TPC Southwind on August 14, 2026 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Scheffler started the final round with a two-shot advantage over his close friend Sam Burns and Sungjae Im. By the end, there was no real chase left.
Kim shot 68 to finish second at 9 under. Alex Noren and Burns tied for third at 8 under, while Im fell back with a closing 74. Scheffler’s 66 was not his flashiest round of the week — that came Friday, when he tied the TPC Southwind course record with a 9-under 61 — but it was a fitting finishing act: controlled, efficient and largely free of drama.
It also reset the tone for a season that had looked almost restrained by Scheffler’s own standards. He had only one Tour victory entering the week, a modest total for a player whose recent run has made multiple-win seasons feel routine. In Memphis, he looked every bit like the player his peers have spent the last several years trying to catch.
The official-money milestone comes with an important caveat. It measures only PGA Tour tournament earnings, not FedExCup bonuses, Player Impact Program money, endorsements or other income. Scheffler’s $10 million bonus for leading the FedExCup regular season, for example, does not count toward his official career total.
Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour Record Looks Different in Today’s Dollars
Getty Tiger Woods from the United States lifts the Waterford Crystal trophy after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Golf tournament on 7th February 2000 at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Monterey, California, United States.
Scheffler is a little more than $1 million from Woods in the official standings. In real purchasing-power terms, however, Woods’ mark remains substantially larger.
Using annual PGA Tour earnings listed in Woods’ career record and adjusting each season to July 2026 dollars with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, Woods’ $120.999 million in official earnings equates to roughly $202.7 million today.
That means Scheffler has not truly “caught” Woods’ career earnings in an inflation-adjusted sense. He remains approximately $82.7 million behind Woods’ inflation-adjusted total.
The distinction is crucial in comparing two vastly different economic eras of golf. Woods’ prime arrived when a typical winner’s check was often measured in hundreds of thousands, not the multimillion-dollar payouts now common at signature events and in the playoffs. His record-setting 2000 season produced $9.19 million in official earnings; in 2026 dollars, that alone is worth about $17.8 million.
None of that diminishes Scheffler’s achievement. His rise to second on the official list before age 31 is a measure of both his sustained dominance and the modern PGA Tour’s inflated purses. But it offers proper perspective on what Woods built across nearly three decades.
The official record could still change quickly. The BMW Championship again offers $3.6 million to the winner, and the Tour Championship pays $10 million to its champion. Scheffler needs only another strong playoff week to take the nominal No. 1 spot — even if Woods’ inflation-adjusted standard remains a much steeper mountain.
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