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You needed to be a pretty diehard golf fan to be familiar with Sam Bennett prior to the beginning of The Masters in 2023, but he became impossible to ignore thanks to how he fared once he made his debut at Augusta National.
Of course, there’s a reason the amateur earned the right to play in the tournament in the first place before proving he could more than hold his own with the best golfers in the world.
The native of Madisonville, Texas first made a name for himself as a high schooler when he secured a Class 4A state championship during his sophomore year in 2016 (he was also a standout in baseball, basketball, and tennis because some guys have all of the luck).
Bennett didn’t stray that far from home after opting to take his golf game to the next level. In 2018, he made his debut as a member of the golf team at Texas A&M and was eventually named to the SEC All-Freshman Team thanks to his play.
Bennett only continued to improve from there. In August 2022, the two-time All-American had a breakthrough moment when he defeated Ben Carr at the U.S. Amateur championship to ensure he’d have the chance to compete at The Masters in 2023 (a victory that came just a couple of months after he tied for 49th at the U.S. Open).
It seems like Bennett has an incredibly bright future ahead of him—but it seems like the 23-year-old (who will almost assuredly make the leap to the PGA Tour after finishing his fifth year at Texas A&M) is already doing pretty well for himself.
What’s Sam Bennett’s net worth? Here’s how much the amateur golfer has reportedly racked up
If you were initially introduced to Bennett (and his incredibly inspiring tattoo) at The Masters, you likely noticed the (A)” listed next to his name on the scoreboard, which delineates his amateur status.
As you’re probably aware, Bennett can’t accept any prize money if he wants to retain that label, as USGA rules state amateur golfers can only accept “non-monetary” compensation capped at a value of $1,000
However, he’s just one of the many college athletes who’ve been able to reap the benefits of the NIL Era.
In 2022, Bennett secured a sponsorship deal with an Indiana-based marketing company and also added a few brand partners (including Ping) into the fold ahead of the U.S. Open (his 49th-place finish at the tournament would’ve netted him around $45,000 if he’d been participating as a professional).
The nature of all of those deals means the financial details haven’t been publicly disclosed. However, we can make some assumptions based on a report that said athletes at Texas A&M collectively raked in approximately $4 million in NIL money during the 2021-22 school year.
The fact that Bennett is a golfer means it’s hard to imagine his earnings measure up to what guys on the football team made, but he also became a fairly hot commodity in the wake of his U.S. Amateur win (and is now an even hotter one thanks to following his first showing at Augusta).
There are some outlets who’ve estimated Bennett’s net worth could be upwards of $1 million, although it’s hard to believe that’s actually the case when you consider that would put him up there with some of the biggest names in college sports.
With that said, when you take the sponsorships he’s already earned into consideration and combine them with his future potential and other college athletes with a similar profile, his net worth is likely hovering in the high five or low six figures ($100,000 seems like a much more accurate valuation, although there’s a good chance it could be a little bit lower).
However, that number will almost certainly grow in a big way once he sheds his amateur label and makes the leap to the pro circuit.