Almost everyone in golf knows 2024 has been a record-setting year for Scottie Scheffler, with six PGA Tour wins to his name and an Olympic gold medal to top it off.
The World No.1 has collected almost $30 million in prize money alone and could well increase that tally by nearly 100% in the coming days.
He is on track to lift the FedEx Cup and collect a further $25 million at the end of a long and taxing campaign - a just reward for the player who has been the standout man on the PGA Tour.
And, this season has also been pretty sweet for Scheffler's caddie, Ted Scott, too. The professional looper has assisted Scheffler with all of his victories and has likely been extremely well compensated in terms of bonuses - on top of his base salary.
It is understood that many golfers opt to pay their bagman a standard figure every week before later topping that up by a certain percentage based on their finish at an event. So, if a golfer wins a tournament, their caddie collects 10% of the prize money. If they finish inside the top-10, it might well be around 7%. And if they make the cut but miss out on a notable result, the looper could receive 5% of the payout.
Scott and Scheffler at the 2024 PGA Championship
Based on this theory, Scott may well have earned in the region of $2.7 million in bonuses this season. That figure - if the $25 million FedEx Cup top prize is taken into account - could therefore rise to something like $5.2 million if Scheffler maintains his early advantage and lifts a maiden FedEx Cup.
For context, this would put Scott inside the top-30 on the official money list for the PGA Tour ahead of the Fall series and 17th on the LIV Golf money list ahead of players like Adrian Meronk, Patrick Reed, and Richard Bland.
To further illustrate the point, the LPGA Tour's runaway Race to CME Globe Tour season leader, Nelly Korda has collected $3,601,630 in 2024 - and she has won six times, five of which arrived in succession.
Rory McIlroy tops the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai standings from seven events - helped significantly by his Major results - but even his total of $5,058,620 would be surpassed by Scott.
Xander Schauffele (right) and his caddie Austin Kaiser
Scheffler's 2024 has been extraordinary, and he would have been the standalone candidate for Player of the Year if Xander Schauffele had not claimed his first two Majors and been remarkably consistent otherwise.
Yet, should Schauffele end second behind his fellow countryman, tacking 7% of $12.5 million onto Austin Kaiser's potential bonus earnings for 2024 would still mean Scott has taken home more than double his peer.
