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As the European and American teams gear up for the 2025 Ryder Cup, one man's wealth outshines the rest. Despite Team USA star Scottie Scheffler holding the world No.1 spot, it's Rory McIlroy who tops the leaderboard in terms of career earnings. McIlroy has had a standout year, finally ending his long pursuit to complete a career Grand Slam. His victory at the Masters - clinched after a play-off against Justin Rose - arrived over a decade after he secured his first Open triumph to add to his US Open and USPGA titles. Official PGA figures reveal that McIlroy is one of just two players with more than US$100million (£74.2m) in lifetime earnings, trailing only Tiger Woods. His overall total of $107,981,766 places him more than $8m ahead of Scheffler, who ranks third on the list. In 2025 alone, McIlroy has pocketed nearly $17m in prize money. This includes three separate seven-figure sums, the highest of which - $4.5m - was awarded for his win at the Players Championship back in March. The Northern Irishman has also profited from numerous sponsorship deals to boost his income from on-course results, including endorsement contracts with Nike and Omega. According to the most recent Sunday Times Rich List, he is the 19th-richest individual in the UK under the age of 40, with an estimated net worth of £260m. Scheffler's net worth of $110m (£81m), as reported by Golf365, is more than tripled by this figure. In fact, it's not far off the combined net worth of the entire US team, estimated to be just over £305m. McIlroy isn't the only European team member out-earning their American counterparts. According to Forbes' 2024 list of the world's highest-paid athletes, Jon Rahm also took home a nine-figure sum, with a significant portion coming from his LIV Golf exploits. Other high-profile players have declined the opportunity to join the breakaway league, including Justin Rose - the most senior player on the European team. Speaking to The Telegraph in May, Rose cited his aspirations for further major success as a key factor in his decision. "That was a primary factor and, hey, it's almost paid off," Rose stated. "I've finished runner-up in the last two majors and would I have even been playing if I'd switched across? Who knows? I have no regrets." Other European stars boast net worths in the low seven figures. Among them is Rasmus Hojgaard, the only newcomer on the European team, who last year became the youngest player this century to secure a fifth win on the European tour. McIlroy's participation in this year's Ryder Cup comes after he admitted that he is comfortably in the "back nine" of his career. "Yeah, absolutely, back six!" he declared. "I was asked about this at The Players even before I won The Players and I said the same thing. "I don't want to be grounding out here at 50 years of age. I'll turn up and play the majors and have a nice time but you know, whenever I'm done, I'm done, whenever that is. That's certainly not right now, but I'm certainly closer to that point now than I was in 2007 when I turned pro."
