When Scottie Scheffler won the American Express tournament in January, he didn’t just collect his 20th PGA Tour title. He crossed a financial threshold that only two golfers in PGA Tour history had reached before him.
With a $1.6 million winner’s check, the 29-year-old surpassed $101 million in career on-course earnings, joining fellow golf legends Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in golf’s exclusive $100 million club. They’re also all former Masters champions, with Scheffler winning in 2022 and 2024, Woods winning in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2019, and McIlroy winning in 2025.
Scheffler achieved his 20th PGA Tour victory with just 151 starts, a pace that tracks only with Woods and Jack Nicklaus—and all 20 of Scheffler’s wins came in just a four-year time span. He’s considered the best golfer on the planet right now, according to the Official World Golf Ranking, a spot he’s maintained for 146 consecutive weeks, Gold Ranking Stats data shows.
He’s a four-time major champion, having claimed two Masters titles, a PGA Championship, and a British Open, plus he’s an Olympic gold medalist, and was the PGA Tour Player of the Year for four straight seasons. One of the most remarkable facts about Scheffler is that he’s only been playing professional golf since 2018, right after he graduated from the University of Texas.
Scheffler is one of the most decorated players in golf and is a top earner, but he’s already shown he’s not letting the wealth and fame get to his head.
In 2025, he donated his entire Ryder Cup stipend of $500,000 to charity.
‘I don’t like to give charitable dollars for some kind of recognition’
Last September, the PGA of America broke with tradition by directly compensating U.S. Ryder Cup players for the first time. Each of the 12 U.S. team members received $300,000 earmarked for a charity of their choice and $200,000 as a personal stipend, for a total of $500,000 per player. The charitable portion alone was a significant increase from the $200,000 donation that had been made in each player’s name since 1999.
That decision came with some backlash, particularly after European captain Luke Donald said his players had rejected the idea of being paid. He said the Ryder Cup “is not about prize money or world ranking points. It’s about pride,” although he later clarified his remarks weren’t directed at U.S. players.
Scheffler took advantage of the extra earnings, but in an unexpected way. He said he would donate the entire amount (both the portion earmarked for charity and his personal stipend) to organizations in his hometown of Dallas.
“My wife and I like to do a lot of stuff in our local community, and I’ve never been one to announce what we do,” Scheffler said, according to The Athletic. “I don’t like to give charitable dollars for some kind of recognition.”
“We have something planned for the money that we’ll be receiving,” he continued. “I think it’s a really cool thing that the PGA of America has empowered us to do.” Scheffler never announced the names of specific organizations to which he donated because he said he doesn’t participate in charity for recognition.
Other Ryder Cup players, including Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, along with captain Keegan Bradley, confirmed they would donate their full stipends as well.
“There’s a lot of pride that comes into playing in one of these, and yes, we’re happy to get paid for this, and yes, I plan on donating it,” Schauffele said, according to CBS Sports. “It’s something that selfishly will make me feel good about what I do.”
Philanthropic giving rooted in personal loss
Scheffler’s most personal philanthropic work traces back to a childhood friendship with James Ragan, a fellow junior golfer in Texas who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2006. Ragan and his older sister, Mecklin, cofounded the Triumph Over Kid Cancer Foundation in 2010 to raise awareness and fund research for pediatric cancer. James, who played golf at Rice University, died in 2014 at age 20 during his sophomore year.
Scheffler remained involved with the foundation for years, donating $50,000 in 2019 after winning the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition early in his professional career. He later partnered with Mecklin Ragan to create a golf program called Scottie’s Heroes that puts clubs in the hands of kids undergoing cancer treatment.
In late 2024, Scheffler auctioned off his beloved 2012 GMC Yukon XL—the car his father gave him after college—through Heritage Auctions, with all proceeds benefiting Triumph Over Kid Cancer. CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz placed the opening $50,000 bid at a TOKC fundraising gala and won the car.
“I figure just driving this SUV to the golf course should lower my handicap by at least five shots,” Nantz told Golfweek.
