What Is Martin Kaymer’s Net Worth?
German professional golfer Martin Kaymer has an estimated net worth of $30 million.
A two-time major winner and former World No. 1, Martin Kaymer has been one of Europe’s leading golf figures for more than a decade. He captured the 2010 PGA Championship, spent eight weeks at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking in 2011, and made the decisive putt during Europe’s dramatic comeback at the 2012 Ryder Cup. In 2014, he enjoyed another standout season, winning both The Players Championship and the U.S. Open. His eight-stroke triumph at Pinehurst made him only the second German man, after Bernhard Langer, to win multiple major titles.
Over a professional career lasting more than 20 years, Kaymer has collected tens of millions of dollars in prize money. He had earned more than €22 million on the European Tour by 2019 and has recorded more than $11 million in PGA Tour earnings. In 2022, he joined LIV Golf as captain of Cleeks GC, with his LIV prize money later nearing $10 million, not including any guaranteed compensation tied to his move. His commercial partnerships have included major brands such as Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, SAP, and Hugo Boss.
Early Life
Kaymer was born on December 28, 1984, in Düsseldorf, West Germany, and grew up in nearby Mettmann. During childhood, he pursued several sports, with soccer and golf among his main interests.
His first visit to a golf course came when he was about 10, accompanying his father and older brother. Kaymer eventually chose golf over soccer and progressed quickly. His game was built on precision, disciplined ball striking, and the composed temperament that became a defining feature of his career.
Kaymer turned professional in 2005. The next season, he dominated Germany’s EPD Tour, winning five of 14 starts and recording a 59 at the Habsburg Classic. He followed that run with two Challenge Tour victories, results that secured his promotion to Europe’s top-level circuit.
European Tour Breakthrough
He became a full-time European Tour player in 2007. Kaymer missed the cut in his first five tournaments, but his season soon changed direction. He ended the year with €754,691 in prize money and became the first German to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.
Kaymer claimed his first European Tour title at the 2008 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. Later that year, he won the BMW International Open on home soil and finished second behind Tiger Woods at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Further victories at the 2009 French Open and Scottish Open confirmed Kaymer’s rapid rise. By his mid-20s, he was firmly established as one of the most promising players in world golf.
2010 PGA Championship
His defining breakthrough arrived at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
Kaymer began the final round four shots off the lead and completed regulation at 11-under par, level with Bubba Watson. Dustin Johnson seemed poised to enter the playoff as well, but a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker on the final hole ended his challenge.
Kaymer overcame Watson in a three-hole aggregate playoff to win his first major championship. The title came with $1.35 million in prize money and made him the first German golfer to capture the PGA Championship.
That major victory was the centerpiece of an exceptional 2010 campaign. Kaymer also won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the KLM Open, and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
2010 Race to Dubai
He ended the 2010 season as the leading player in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai.
Kaymer earned €4.461 million that year, including a €1.092 million Race to Dubai bonus. At the time, the combined figure set a record for a single European Tour season.
His achievements earned him the European Tour Players’ Player of the Year award and a share of the European Tour Golfer of the Year honor with Graeme McDowell. Kaymer also played a key role in Europe’s Ryder Cup victory over the United States during his debut appearance, contributing 2.5 points.
World No. 1
Kaymer opened 2011 by winning the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship for a third time. He dominated the tournament, finishing eight strokes ahead of Rory McIlroy.
The following month, Kaymer advanced to the final of the WGC Match Play Championship. That result propelled him to the No. 1 position in the world rankings.
He remained World No. 1 for eight weeks, from late February until April 2011. At age 26, Kaymer was then the second-youngest player to reach the top of the rankings, behind only Tiger Woods.
Later in 2011, Kaymer won the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai after closing with a spectacular 63. The $1.2 million victory placed him among the select group of golfers who had won both a major championship and a World Golf Championships event.
Miracle at Medinah
One of the most memorable moments of Kaymer’s career came during the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.
Europe entered the final day trailing the United States 10-6 and appeared headed for defeat. The European team then produced one of the greatest comebacks in Ryder Cup history.
Kaymer faced Steve Stricker in the penultimate singles match. With Europe needing 14 points to retain the Cup, Kaymer arrived at the 18th green with a short putt that could complete the comeback.
He sank the five-foot putt, defeating Stricker and guaranteeing that Europe would retain the Ryder Cup. Francesco Molinari subsequently secured the half-point that gave Europe an outright 14.5-13.5 victory.
The comeback became known as the “Miracle at Medinah,” and Kaymer’s winning putt remains one of the defining moments of his career.
2014 Players Championship
After a relatively quiet 2012 and 2013, Kaymer returned to the top of world golf in spectacular fashion in 2014.
In May, he opened The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass with a course-record-tying 63. He entered the final round with the lead but faced a dramatic finish following a weather delay.
On the famous par-3 17th hole, Kaymer’s tee shot left him with a difficult long putt. His first putt raced past the hole and toward the water before stopping on the fringe. He then holed the ensuing 28-foot putt for par.
Kaymer finished one stroke ahead of Jim Furyk to win The Players Championship and collect $1.8 million.
2014 U.S. Open
Just over a month later, Kaymer delivered the most dominant performance of his career at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
He opened with consecutive rounds of 65, setting a championship record with a 130 total through 36 holes. While most of the field struggled on the demanding course, Kaymer built such a large advantage that the final rounds became less a question of whether he would win than by how much.
Kaymer finished at nine-under par, eight strokes ahead of runners-up Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton. No other player finished under par.
The victory earned Kaymer $1.62 million and his second major championship. Combined with his $1.8 million Players Championship payday, he earned $3.42 million from those two victories in just over a month.
The U.S. Open remains Kaymer’s most recent individual victory on one of golf’s major international tours.
Later European and PGA Tour Career
Kaymer remained a regular presence near the top of European leaderboards after 2014, although another victory proved elusive.
He came especially close at the 2015 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Kaymer began the final round with a six-shot lead and at one stage moved ten strokes ahead, only to suffer a dramatic collapse as Gary Stal came from behind to win.
Kaymer continued dividing his schedule between the European and PGA Tours. His four Ryder Cup appearances came in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016, with Europe winning three of those competitions.
He also represented Germany at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. By the end of the 2010s, injuries and inconsistent form had pushed him down the world rankings, but he continued competing internationally.
Tournament prize money has been a major source of Kaymer’s wealth.
Through the end of 2019, he had earned more than €22.7 million in recorded European Tour prize money. His PGA Tour record lists more than $11.5 million in official career earnings, although some of those winnings overlap with European Tour totals because major championships and World Golf Championships were counted on both circuits.
His most lucrative individual victories included $1.35 million for the 2010 PGA Championship, $1.2 million for the 2011 WGC-HSBC Champions, $1.8 million for the 2014 Players Championship, and $1.62 million for the 2014 U.S. Open.
Kaymer’s peak years also made him one of Germany’s most commercially attractive athletes. He became a longtime Rolex ambassador and had endorsement relationships with Mercedes-Benz, SAP, Hugo Boss, BMW, and golf-equipment manufacturers.
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LIV Golf
In 2022, Kaymer became one of the established major champions who left the traditional tours to join the newly created LIV Golf series.
He joined at the circuit’s inaugural event and became captain of Cleeks GC. The financial terms of Kaymer’s LIV contract were never publicly disclosed, so any signing bonus or guaranteed compensation remains unknown.
The move nonetheless created another significant stream of tournament earnings. Kaymer accumulated nearly $10 million in individual and team LIV prize money over his first several seasons on the circuit.
His early LIV career was complicated by a wrist injury that required surgery and caused him to miss the end of the 2022 season and the beginning of 2023. His health and form improved during 2024.
Cleeks GC recorded its first LIV team victory at the 2024 Houston event. The four-man team shared a $3 million first-place team purse.
Kaymer has remained captain of Cleeks while also periodically returning to DP World Tour events and using his major-championship exemptions to compete against players from outside LIV.
Real Estate
Kaymer and his family divide their time between homes in the United States and Europe.
They own a home in Scottsdale, Arizona, which gives Kaymer a U.S. base for golf and training. The family also owns a home in Sotogrande in southern Spain, one of Europe’s best-known golf communities.
The Sotogrande property backs onto a golf course and is located near Real Club Valderrama. After moving to the area, Kaymer became a professional member at Valderrama, one of Europe’s most prestigious courses.
Personal Life
Martin Kaymer began a relationship with German health and fitness professional Irene Scholz in 2021. The couple welcomed a son in early 2022 and married in a small civil ceremony later that year. They held a larger wedding celebration in the Bavarian Alps in 2024.
Becoming a father changed Kaymer’s approach to his career. He took an extended period away from competition around the birth of his son and has spoken about structuring his schedule to spend more time with his family.
Kaymer has often cited fellow German golfer Bernhard Langer as an inspiration. His career ultimately placed him alongside Langer as one of the two most accomplished male golfers Germany has produced, with multiple major championships, a World No. 1 ranking, and a central role in European Ryder Cup history.
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