If there’s any tournament in golf where how much the winner makes in prize money is ancillary to everything else that comes with claiming the title, it’s the Masters. The legacy of being one of the select golfers to own a green jacket and with it a spot in the Champions locker room, a seat at the Champions Dinner and a place in golf history, is worth more than the payout that winds up in their bank account—even with the staggering amounts that are being paid out at majors these days.

Make no mistake, however, those who shake the Augusta National chairman’s hand in Butler Cabin at the conclusion of the tournament earn an impressive financial reward.

As the rise of LIV Golf and the mega-million-dollar purse has caused the PGA Tour to counter with its own $20 million signature events, prize money records are falling all over the place. The question is whether the majors can keep up, given that their purses turn out to be lower than other “regular” tour events on the two rival circuits.

Truth be told, it’s actually a matter of “catching” up, which is exactly what the Masters has been doing for the past few years. In 2020 and 2021, the Masters payout was $11.5 million, with the winner earning $2.07 million. It jumped to $15 million and $2.7 million for Scottie Scheffler in 2022, then $18 million in 2023, with Jon Rahm claiming $3.24 million for his win. Potentially, the tournament will increase the purse again this year, but nothing official will likely be announced until a cut is made during tournament week.

Currently, the Masters trails the U.S. Open ($20 million overall purse) but pays out a bit more than the PGA Championship ($17.5 million) in terms of men’s majors with the largest purses. (The Open Championship paid $16.5 million in 2023, up $2.5 million from 2022.) All the majors are currently dwarfed by the Players Championship, which paid out $25 million in March with winner Scottie Scheffler earning $4.5 million.

With Tiger Woods expected to play again this week, and with his celebrated Masters career, it is interesting to track how much the five-time green jacket winner has made during his career at Augusta. Here’s a breakdown of his Masters prize money payout each year he’s competed as a professional:

1997: Win, $486,000

1998: T-8, $89,600

1999: T-18, $52,160

2000: 5, $184,000

2001: Win, $1,008,000

2002: Win, $1,008,000

2003: T-15, $93,000

2004: T-22, $70,200

2005: Win, $1,260,000

2006: T-3, $315,700

2007: T-2, $541,333

2008: 2, $810,000

2009: T-6, $242,813

2010: T-4, $330,000

2011: T-4, $330,667

2012: T-40, $32,000

2013: T-4, $352,000

2015: T-17, $155,000

2018: T-32, $63,663

2019: Win, $2,070,000

2020: T-38, $50,600

2022: 47th, $43,500

(A note about last year: As you might recall, Tiger made the cut but withdrew ahead of the start of the third round, earning $10,000 that’s unofficial in terms of PGA Tour prize money but is still counted by the Masters in its overall totals, lifting him to $9.598 million for his career.)

Woods was the career money leader in Masters history but got passed in 2023 when Phil Mickelson finished T-2 and pushed his all-time total to $9,773,317 with Jordan Spieth in third place with $6,015,828.

Here’s a look at the top 20 on the Masters career money list along with some notable past champions and where they shake out:

Masters career money leaders

1: Phil Mickelson $9,773,317 (30 starts)

2: Tiger Woods $9,598,236 (25)

3: Jordan Spieth $6,015,828 (10)

4: Jon Rahm, 5,063,017 (7)

5: Dustin Johnson $4,627,235 (13)

6: Justin Rose $4,403,765 (18)

7: Rory McIlroy $4,167,521 (15)

8: Bubba Watson $4,121,765 (15)

9: Hideki Matsuyama $3,948,867 (12)

10: Adam Scott $3,858.307 (22)

11: Lee Westwood $3,687,748 (21)

12: Patrick Reed $3,627,851 (10)

13: Angel Cabrera $3,528,357 (20)

14: Scottie Scheffler, $3,437,325 (4)

15: Sergio Garcia $3,437,325 (24)

16: Brooks Koepka, $3,224,284 (8)

17: Charl Schwartzel $2,997,281 (14)

18: Fred Couples $2,850,601 (38)

19: Cameron Smith, $2,716,668 (7)

17: Vijay Singh $2,637,805 (30)

Other Notables

Jack Nicklaus, $748,359

Gary Player, $239,552

Arnold Palmer, $139,163.33

Sam Snead, $50,881.25

Ben Hogan, $32,735

Byron Nelson, $15,686.99

Gene Sarazen, $7,077.25

And here’s the evolution of how much the champion has earned over the years:

1934: $1,500

1935: $1,500

1936: $1,500

1937: $1,500

1938: $1,500

1939: $1,500

1940: $1,500

1941: $1,500

1942: $1,500

1943-’45: No Masters (WWII)

1946: $2,500

1947: $2,500

1948: $2,500

1949: $2,750

1950: $2,400

1951: $3,000

1952: $4,000

1953: $4,000

1954: $5,000

1955: $5,000

1956: $6,000

1957: $8,750

1958: $11,250

1959: $15,000

1960: $17,500

1961: $20,000

1962: $20,000

1963: $20,000

1964: $20,000

1965: $20,000

1966: $20,000

1967: $20,000

1968: $20,000

1969: $20,000

1970: $25,000

1971: $25,000

1972: $25,000

1973: $30,000

1974: $35,000

1975: $40,000

1976: $40,000

1977: $40,000

1978: $45,000

1979: $50,000

1980: $55,000

1981: $60,000

1982: $64,000

1983: $90,000

1984: $108,000

1985: $126,000

1986: $144,000

1987: $162,000

1988: $183,800

1989: $200,000

1990: $225,000

1991: $243,000

1992: $270,000

1993: $306,000

1994: $360,000

1995: $396,000

1996: $450,000

1997: $486,000

1998: $576,000

1999: $720,000

2000: $828,000

2001: $1,008,000

2002: $1,008,000

2003: $1,080,000

2004: $1,117,000

2005: $1,260,000

2006: $1,260,000

2007: $1,305,000

2008: $1,350,000

2009: $1,350,000

2010: $1,350,000

2011: $1,440,000

2012: $1,440,000

2013: $1,440,000

2014: $1,620,000

2015: $1,800,000

2016: $1,800,000

2017: $1,980,000

2018: $1,980,000

2019: $2,070,000

2020: $2,070,000

2021: $2,070,000

2022: $2,700,000

2023: $3,240,000

Main Image: J.D. Cuban