McIlroy’s future career value predicted to be $309 million, according to Duff & Phelps study

Duff & Phelps, the world’s premier provider of governance, risk and transparency solutions, today released its inaugural report, Measuring Their Value: A Study of Professional Golfers’ Future Career Value. Ranking male professional golfers by their expected future earnings, the study looked at the present value of potential winnings and endorsement income that could be achieved over the remaining years of their careers through age 50.

The aggregate Future Career Value (FCV) of the top 10 players reaches USD $1.9 billion, with Holywood golfer Rory Mcllroy taking the number one spot at USD $309 million.

LEADERBOARD

1. Rory McIlroy | N. Ireland | $309m

2. Justin Thomas | United States | $239m

3. Tiger Woods | United States | $202m

4. Jon Rahm | Spain | $201m

5. Xander Schauffelle | United States | $197m

6. Dustin Johnson | United States | $180m

7. Brooks Koepka | United States | $159m

8. Bryson DeChambeau | United States | $146m

9. Matthew Wolff | United States | $140m

10. Patrick Reed | United States | $120m

England's Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Matthew Fitzpatrick also rank within the top 20 in FCV.

14. Justin Rose | England | $108m

16. Tyrrell Hatton | England | $100m

19. Matthew Fitzpatrick | England | $93m

Duff & Phelps’ top 10 FCV ranking closely aligns with the top 10 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) as of September 27, 2020. One exception was Tiger Woods, who, factoring in his highly lucrative endorsement levels, claims a top 10 spot despite falling out of the top 10 in the OWGR this year.

Michael Weaver, Managing Director and Head of Valuation Advisory EMEA at Duff & Phelps, said:

“Our inaugural study has shown that early success may be a strong predictor for achieving a higher Future Career Value, though those realising tour success later in their careers can also have staying power. With the average age of the players on our leaderboard at just 30 years old, we’ve highlighted some of the up-and-coming golfers who have the potential to generate decades of winnings and endorsements in the future.”