How LIV Golf star Talor Gooch’s Aussie caddie made more than $1MILLION in just eight days

Mal Baker, Talor Gooch’s Australian caddy, has earned more than $1 million in eight days after the American rebellious golfer became the first player to win back-to-back LIV Golf titles on Sunday.

Gooch secured a playoff hole victory against Sergio Garcia at the LIV Singapore tournament at Sentosa Golf Club after winning the inaugural LIV Australia tournament in Adelaide last week.

It means the American, who had won just once in 121 PGA Tour starts before defecting to LIV Golf, has amassed $12 million in winnings in just over a week.

If Gooch were to give 10 percent of the profits to his caddy, as is customary for professional golfers, Baker would collect $1.2 million for his services.

To put the figure into context, that’s more than Jordan Spieth earned when he finished fourth at the Masters last month.

Baker has been on Gooch’s bag for six years and his earnings over the past two weeks are only marginally lower than what Masters champion Jon Rahm earned by finishing second to Tony Finau at the Mexico Open on Sunday.

The Spaniard received $1.3 million and has already earned $22 million this season thanks to some remarkable form.

In 12 starts since October, Rahm has finished in the top-10 in eight events and won four tournaments, including the Masters.

With three majors left to play this year, Rahm has already broken the record for most prize money won in a PGA Tour season, set by Scottie Scheffler last year when he pocketed $21 million.

But while winning on the PGA Tour remains a hugely lucrative exercise, it still falls short of LIV Golf’s offerings.

All LIV Golf events follow the same structure and have the same payout, with a total prize pool of $37 million.

The winner will take home $6 million and the winning team will share a check for $4 million. There are a total of 12 teams, each consisting of four players.

Unlike the PGA and European Tours, there are no cuts in LIV Golf, meaning that even the player who finishes last still earns at least $180,000.

The PGA Tour has loosened up its wallet to keep up with the prize money available on the Saudi-backed tour.

Baker has been on Gooch’s bag for six years and followed the American from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf last year

The Australian caddy will earn $1.2 million after Gooch won two LIV tournaments

As of this season, the PGA Tour has designated 17 tournaments as “exalted” events offering prizes of at least $30 million, with The Players Championship still offering the largest prize on the tour with an offer of $37 million.

As part of the arrangement, the top 20 players from the Player Impact Program must make themselves available for increased events and may only skip one during the season.

Last month, Rory McIlroy lost $4.5 million of the $18 million he earned last year for his second-place finish in the Player Impact Program after withdrawing from the RBC Heritage.

The Northern Irishman – who helped lead and publicly supported the changes on the PGA Tour – had already missed the Sentry Tournament of Champions, another of the lofty events, earlier this year.