Among Spaun’s five top-10 finishes were two second-place results – at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and The Players Championship – which are among the highest-paying events on the PGA Tour calendar.
His surprising performance this season is underscored by the fact that he only earned $1.65 million in prize money last year, with his previous best season total being $3 million.
The Californian will look to continue his remarkable ascent in the opening round of the FedExCup Playoffs this week at the FedEx St Jude Championship.
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The FedExCup Playoffs are a trio of events with progressively smaller fields: 70 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, 50 at the BMW Championship, and 30 at the TOUR Championship.
This places Spaun in an excellent position to surpass the $700,000 he needs to outdo golf legend Woods’ most lucrative year in prize money.
The 15-time major winner is often celebrated as one of the greatest golfers of all time. Yet, he only surpassed the $10M mark in earnings in three years – 2005, 2007, and 2009 – with his highest-earning year being 2007 at $10.87M, despite claiming seven PGA Tour wins, including the PGA Championship.
This highlights just how significantly prize money has escalated in recent years, with current PGA Tour winnings on any given Sunday dwarfing what Woods and his peers once earned.
Although Spaun has seen recent success, he still has quite a distance to cover to reach Woods’ career achievements, which boast 82 Tour victories and a total prize collection of $121M before injuries impacted his game.
Nevertheless, Spaun’s journey from a regular competitor to a major champion serves as a motivational story of determination for any aspiring golf professional. “I never thought I would win a major – a few years ago I was just trying to get in them,” he reflected post-victory.
“It’s a big difference, having the spotlight on me now and the expectations, but all I can do is just rely on the experiences I’ve had – coming down the stretch at the U.S. Open, getting myself in the play-off at The Players Championship.
“I’ve had way bigger challenges – whether it’s life or golf or losing my card – than just being more in the spotlight, so I’m learning to embrace it.”