How much are players earning at PGA Championship? The purse goes up to $20.5M

The Masters raised its total purse to $22.5 million this year, the highest payout of golf's four majors and a $1.5 million increase from the previous year. The U.S. Open next month and the British Open in July — typically the smallest of major purses — have not announced their plans.

The U.S. Open had a $21.5 million purse last year, and the British Open purse was at $17 million.

Prize money in golf began spiking when Saudi-funded LIV Golf launched in 2022 with its $20 million purses and $4 million payouts. The PGA Tour now has eight “signature” events with a $20 million purse that pays $3.6 million to the winner ($4 million in three such tournaments).

The Players Championship had a $25 million purse, and the PGA Tour last year decided the FedEx Cup finale at the Tour Championship would count as official money instead of a bonus, making it a $40M prize fund.

Terry Clark, the new CEO of the PGA of America, was asked earlier this week about staying competitive with the other majors while being fiscally responsible. He offered little along those lines except to say, “It’s not always in comparison to all of those. It’s what are the factors that make sense. We do look at it as an annual focus around how do we get at competitive purses.”

The player finishing last among the 82 players who made the cut will get $23,900. The 74 players who missed the cut, including 19 club professionals, were paid $4,300.

The PGA Championship is at Aronimink for the first time since 1962, when the total prize fund was $69,400 and Gary Player won $13,000. It also was the third-highest purse among majors then.

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