Since the inception of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League, there has been an undeniable stir in the entire golfing fraternity. Be it the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour, the leading golfing circuits were really struggling to hold on to their golfers.The League offered huge paychecks and eye-watering prize pools in each and every tournament. They pulled out all the stops and tricks up their sleeves to compete with the PGA Tour and entice prominent names in the sport.To dissuade golfers from joining the breakway league, the Tour had an enormously inflated budget in the 2022-23 season. The FedEx Cup budget was substantially increased and a new Player Impact Program was also introduced.It is noteworthy that Scottie Scheffler, who played just 23 events in the 2022-23 season, which is two less than the 2021-22 season, has earned around $21 million, while last season he earned just over $14 million.As a matter of fact, he won four tournaments last season, while winning just two tournaments this season.Although there are over 120 players who earned over a million dollars in the 2022-23 season, which is almost similar to the 2021-22 season, there is a substantial decrease in the number of tournaments conducted to earn that kind of money.For a better understanding, look at the top 10 earners in both the seasons:Top 10 earners in the 2022-23 seasonScottie Scheffler - $21,014,342Jon Rahm - $16,522,608Viktor Hovland - $14,112,234Rory McIlroy - $13,921,008Wyndham Clark - $10,757,489Max Homa - $10,506,366Patrick Cantlay - $10,372,998Brian Harman - $9,151,022Keegan Bradley - $8,897,330Xander Schauffele - $8,422,856Top 10 earners in the 2021-22 seasonScottie Scheffler - $14,046,910Cameron Smith - $10,107,897Will Zalatoris - $9,405,082Patrick Cantlay - $9,369,605Rory McIlroy - $8,654,566Xander Schauffele - $7,427,299Sam Burns - $7,073,986Matt Fitzpatrick - $7,012,672Justin Thomas - $6,829,576Cameron Young - $6,520,598It is also pertinent to note that in the previous two editions, the budget of the PGA Tour has increased like never before. Scottie Scheffler, who has earned about $35 million collectively in the last two seasons, has crossed the $15 million earnings mark in both seasons.In comparison, Jordan Spieth crossed $10 million in earnings in a season back in 2014-15. Till the 2020-21 season, no golfer had crossed that mark.How much did the PGA Tour budget increase in some of its elevated tournaments?The leading American golf tour first increased the prize pool of many tournaments in the 2021-22 season. But that was just pennies to the dollar. The major hike came in the 2022-23 season. Most of the events saw on average a 60-70 percent prize pool increase.Following are the PGA Tour elevated events that had some whopping prize pool hikes:Sentry Tournament of Champions 2021-22: $8.2 million2022-23: $15 millionGenesis Invitational2021-22: $12 million2022-23: $20 millionArnold Palmer Invitational2021-22: $12 million2022-23: $20 millionThe Players Championship2021-22: $20 million2022-23: $25 millionWGC-Dell Technologies Match Play2021-22: $12 million2022-23: $20 millionMemorial Tournament2021-22: $12 million2022-23: $20 millionFedEx Cup playoff events2021-22: $15 million2022-23: $20 millionWM Phoenix Open2021-22: $8.5 million2022-23: $20 millionRBC Heritage2021-22: $8.3 million2022-23: $20 millionWells Fargo Championship2021-22: $9.3 million2022-23: $20 millionTravelers Championship2021-22: $8.6 million2022-23: $20 millionThe PGA Tour started to increase the prize pool as soon as LIV Golf's inception was announced. And when popular golfers from the Tour like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and many others started to switch, they had no other option but to increase the budget like never before.