Rory McIlroy v Seve Ballesteros: how do their on-course earnings compare?

Yesterday at 03:05 PM

Two golfers have dominated European golf since the European Tour was created in the early 1970s.

Seve Ballesteros was the first of those.

The Spaniard was a giant of the growth of the European Tour.

His wild mane of hair, dark good looks, thrilling long game and magical short game grabbed European golf by the scruff of the neck.

Where Seve went, others followed.

We can't overlook the brilliance of Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood.

They were superb golfers who transformed the Ryder Cup, dominated in Europe and contested majors (the first four of those won them).

But it is Rory McIlroy who has truly gone to the next level.

He's won four majors (although none since 2014).

He has dominated both in Europe and in the States.

And he has that magic dust which Seve had.

But let's use the pair of them to demonstrate just how much European golf has changed.

First win

Ballesteros first tasted victory in the 1976 Dutch Open and won €5,503.

McIlroy's equivalent was the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic and was worth €323,514.

First BMW PGA Championship win

Ballesteros took a while to land this one and finally did so in 1983 at Royal St George's. He won €21,000.

McIlroy also had his difficulties in the event and eventually won at Wentworth in 2014 winning €791,660.

First Open win

Ballesteros broke through the major level with victory in the 1979 Open and banked €21,000.

McIlroy's first Open triumph was in 2014 and worth €1,223,449.

Just the $1.2 million more!

First World Match Play win

The old World Match Play was played at Wentworth and Ballesteros was always associated with it in the 1980s.

He first won it in 1981 and landed €42,000. It was a big purse at the time.

McIlroy won the modern World Match Play which was a very different beast but it is worth comparing.

He was victorious in 2015 and earned €1,440,499.

First Order of Merit win

Ballesteros first topped the European Tour Order of Merit in 1976 with a grand total of €29,812.

It was in 2012 that McIlroy first ended the year on top spot in Europe and his figure was €4,738,026.

Most recent Order of Merit win

Ballesteros finally ended the year ranked number one in Europe in 1991 with a tally of €763,495.

McIlroy won last year's Race to Dubai with an enormous €9,170,631.

Career Money List total

McIlroy leads the career money list with a whopping total of €60,237,119.

Ballesteros ranks 157th with a total of €5,061,633.