[Photo: Tracy Wilcox]
Aside from being his best finish so far in 2026, there was nothing outwardly remarkable about the T-26 performance from Denny McCarthy at this past week’s Valspar Championship. But it did produce one notable byproduct, one that the 33-year-old PGA Tour veteran may or may not find all that appealing.
With the $US69,160 earned at Innisbrook Resort yesterday, McCarthy saw his career PGA Tour earnings rise to $US21,595,564. And that pushed him past the $US21,535,424 earned to date by Ben An, giving McCarthy the distinction of being the tour pro who has currently made the most money in his career without having claimed a PGA Tour title.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: You won’t believe how many golfers have earned $US10 million on the PGA Tour without winning an event
Some perspective on this is deservedly in order. For McCarthy to have earned that much money in his career – with 219 pro starts on tour, it translates to $US98,609 per appearance – is an impressive accomplishment. It speaks to a consistency that has seen him make the PGA Tour Playoffs each of the past seven seasons. He has had 29 career top-10 finishes and has benefitted, of course, from the increase in prizemoney payouts in the past few years on tour, his two runner-up finishes alone banking him $US3.18 million.
That said, to be the leader of a club in which you’re a member because you are yet to win a tournament probably means you are doing everything in your power to no longer be a member of the club. That’s what happened to Tommy Fleetwood last August. The Englishman had been in McCarthey’s spot, having seen his career earnings rise to more than $US30 million before finally grabbing his maiden PGA Tour title at the Tour Championship. That allowed Fleetwood to wave good-bye and for An to take the title, but with the South Korean golfer moving to the LIV Golf League this offseason, another changing of the guard was only a matter of time.
We’ve been keeping track of the number of tour pros who have won $US10 million or more without actually winning a tour event – that number is currently at 20 (nine with full PGA Tour cards for 2026). But the number of tour pros who have earned more than $US20 million is now up to three: McCarthy, An and Patrick Rodgers, who joined this even rarer circle two weeks ago after a T-11 finish at the Players Championship.
McCarthy, 96th in the world ranking, is qualified for all the PGA Tour’s signature events in 2026. But he has not earned an invitation into this year’s Masters. By playing in this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, a win by McCarthy would kill two proverbial birds with one tour title.
