Tiger Woods could lose his place atop the PGA Tour’s career money list on Sunday, ending a reign in golf that has lasted more than 26 years.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy both enter the final round of the 2026 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club with a chance to surpass Woods’ $120,999,166 in career PGA Tour earnings.
According to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, Scheffler needs to finish solo 13th or better to surpass Woods’ current total. McIlroy has a steeper path and needs to finish solo fourth or better.
Both are already in position to make a run at the record. Scheffler enters Sunday’s final round tied for third at 12-under, while McIlroy is tied for seventh at 10-under.
Scottie Scheffler Needs Solo 13th or Better to Pass Tiger Woods
Scheffler enters Sunday with $120,390,661 in career PGA Tour earnings, putting him only $608,505 behind Woods.
A solo 13th-place finish or better at the Tour Championship would guarantee Scheffler earns enough to surpass Woods’ current career total.
The world No. 1 already came close to overtaking Woods at the BMW Championship. A third-place finish there would have given Scheffler another $1.3 million and moved him past Woods.
Ahead of the Tour Championship, however, Scheffler downplayed the significance of potentially breaking the financial record because of how much PGA Tour purses have grown since Woods began his career.
“You’re kind of comparing apples and oranges,” Scheffler.
Scheffler credited Woods with helping create the financial opportunities available to today’s players.
“But I think a lot of success we’ve had out here, especially when you look at it from a financial perspective, Tiger has a lot to do with that,” Scheffler said. “Like I said, it’s apples and oranges. The reason our purses are so large today is because of the influence and impact that Tiger had on the game.”
Scheffler said he doesn’t necessarily view passing Woods’ career earnings as breaking one of his records.
“I wouldn’t really consider that a Tiger record being broken,” Scheffler said. “I think it’s more — I think it just shows one of the many effects he had on the game of golf in a positive way.”
Rory McIlroy Needs Solo Fourth or Better to Have a Chance at No. 1
McIlroy enters Sunday third on the PGA Tour career money list with $117,848,372.
His third-place finish at the BMW Championship added $1.36 million to his career earnings, leaving him $3,150,794 behind Woods.
A solo fourth-place finish at East Lake would pay McIlroy $3.2 million, enough to move him past Woods.
However, passing Woods would not necessarily put McIlroy at No. 1.
If McIlroy finishes solo fourth and Scheffler places solo 11th or better, Scheffler would remain ahead of him on the career earnings list.
McIlroy does have a way to guarantee himself the No. 1 position: win the Tour Championship.
The champion receives $10 million from the tournament’s $40 million purse. If McIlroy wins, even a solo second-place finish and $5 million payday for Scheffler would not be enough for Scheffler to pass him.
A victory would also give McIlroy his fourth FedExCup title.
Tiger Woods Has Held PGA Tour Money Record Since 2000
Woods has occupied the No. 1 spot on the PGA Tour career money list since February 13, 2000.
He moved into first after earning $264,000 for a tie for second at the Buick Invitational and has remained there ever since.
Woods’ $120,999,166 in PGA Tour earnings accumulated during a career in which he tied the all-time record for PGA Tour victories, spent a record number of weeks at world No. 1 and won 15 major championships.
Scheffler acknowledged that Woods’ influence helped create the larger purses that have allowed today’s stars to close the financial gap much faster.
“The Tour is only getting more competitive as it goes forward, and I think that’s part of kind of how he played the game,” Scheffler said.
Tiger Woods’ 26-Year Record Could Fall Today — Where Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy Need to Finish