The prize money in golf has risen rapidly, especially in recent years. Provided they are successful, golfers win millions in winnings. But they don’t earn them alone: they are always accompanied by their caddies, who are also entitled to a share of the winnings. As a rule, the caddies are entitled to a fixed share of the prize money: ten per cent if they win, seven per cent for the top 10 and five per cent if they make the cut. Bryan Kopsick, PGA Tour caddie, has now revealed what he earned and what he spent last season.
This is how the caddie’s earnings are made up
Bryan Kopsick works as a caddie for Ben Silverman, a 36-year-old Canadian who is coming off his best season on the PGA Tour and is ranked 110th in the money list with earnings of more than $1.2 million. On X (formerly Twitter) he wrote: ‘How much are PGA Tour caddies paid?’ His calculation includes Silverman’s earnings, which amount to 1,262,599 US dollars from 24 events played. According to his calculation, he is entitled to eight per cent of the prize money per event, which in this case is 101,007.92 US dollars. In addition, he earns 2,000 US dollars per event. His total income is therefore 149,007.92 US dollars. He adds: ‘This does not include sponsorships/off course income OR travel expenses.’
The fact that Kopsick is not paid according to the 5/7/10 per cent rule is due to the fact that Ben Silverman is a ‘great guy’. At the end of the day, it is up to the players what they want to pay their caddies. However, he has to deduct around 50,000 US dollars in travelling and professional expenses from the approximately 150,000 US dollars. In turn, he can add income that he generates through sponsorship. However, there is no exact figure here.
‘We don’t do it for the money’
Kopsick also admits that the figures mentioned are from a very good year. In previous years, Silverman was still at home on the Korn Ferry Tour and had far lower profits (2021 – 74,890 US dollars, 2022 – 23,936 US dollars, 2023 – 522,828 US dollars). The shares Kopsick was entitled to can be easily calculated based on his presentation above: Significantly lower earnings.
If he worked on a first-class golf course, he could also earn up to 100,000 US dollars. However, if the conditions here are not ideal, it would quickly remain at 40,000 to 60,000 US dollars. The caddie also argues: ‘It’s hard, but we don’t do it for the money. It’s extremely rewarding to try and help someone succeed at what they’re truly good at.’ He also says he has ‘the coolest job in the world’ and can eat ice cream the night before a competition despite his job in sport.
