By Ryan Herrington
We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again: If there’s one tournament in golf where how much the winner makes in prize money is truly 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, along with having a space in the Champions locker room, a seat at the Champions dinner and a place in golf history, is worth more than the payout that will be wired to your bank account.

Still, make no mistake about it, those who shake the Augusta National chairman’s hand in Butler Cabin at the conclusion of the tournament earn an impressive financial reward. On Saturday, the club released the prize money payout for the 2020 tournament, keeping the overall purse at $11.5 million with the winner taking home $2,070,000, both numbers mirroring the 2019 payout.

Among the men’s majors, the Masters ranks the second most lucrative. The U.S. Open handed out $12.5 million at Winged Foot in September, with Bryson DeChambeau earning $2.25 million for his victory. The PGA Championship paid out $11 million in August at TPC Harding Park with Collin Morikawa receiving $1.98 million. The Open Championship awarded $10.75 million in 2019 at Royal Portrush.

And the most lucrative purse on the PGA Tour? That distinction goes to the Players Championship. Well, sort of. This year, the tour was set to offer a record $15 million total prize money payout, with the winner claiming $2.7 million. The tournament, however, was called off after the first round as the pandemic first became a national issue.

Before revealing the prize money breakdown for this year at Augusta, here’s a little more Masters prize money history. With his victory in 2019, Tiger Woods returned to being the all-time career money leader in Masters history, jumping past Phil Mickelson. Woods had earned $9.49 million, with Mickelson having won $8.018 million.

Here’s a look at the top 25 on the Masters career money list along with some notable past champions and where they shake out:

Masters career money leaders
1: Tiger Woods, $9,494,136
2: Phil Mickelson, $8,018,037
3: Jordan Spieth, $4,561,156
4: Bubba Watson, $3,931,855
5: Adam Scott, $3,635,277
6: Justin Rose, $3,622,515
7: Ángel Cabrera, $3,473,357
8: Lee Westwood, $3,386,815
9: Sergio Garcia, $3,223,530
10: Fred Couples, $2,734,521
11: Vijay Singh, $2,541,305
12: Ernie Els, $2,486,843
13: José María Olazábal, $2,480,383
14: Rickie Fowler, $2,395,300
15: Charl Schwartzel, $2,349,563
16: Jason Day, $2,284,848
17: Retief Goosen, $2,277,980
18: Dustin Johnson, $2,156,475
19: Patrick Reed, $2,155,788
20: Rory McIlroy, $2,080,521
21: Trevor Immelman, $2,000,573
22: Paul Casey, $1,988,676
23: Matt Kuchar, $1,986,250
24: Zach Johnson, $1,898,652
25: Mike Weir, $1,869,337

Other Notables
63: Jack Nicklaus, $748,359
153: Gary Player, $239,552
195: Arnold Palmer, $139,163.33
290: Sam Snead, $50,881.25
354: Ben Hogan, $32,735
428: Byron Nelson, $15,686.99
497: Gene Sarazen, $7,077.25

OK … here’s what they’ll be playing for this week. Come back after the end of play on Sunday and we’ll update this with names and specific payouts for each golfer who made the cut.

Win: $2,070,000
2: $1,242,000
3: $782,000
4: $552,000
5: $460,000
6: $414,000
7: $385,250
8: $356,500
9: $333,500
10: $310,500
11: $287,500
12: $264,500
13: $241,500
14: $218,500
15: $207,000
16: $195,500
17: $184,000
18: $172,500
19: $161,000
20: $149,500
21: $138,000
22: $128,800
23: $119,600
24: $110,400
25: $101,200
26: $92,000
27: $88,550
28: $85,100
29: $81,650
30: $78,200
31: $74,750
32: $71,300
33: $67,850
34: $64,975
35: $62,100
36: $59,225
37: $56,350
38: $54,050
39: $51,750
40: $49,450
41: $47,150
42: $44,850
43: $42,550
44: $40,250
45: $37,950
46: $35,650
47: $33,350
48: $31,510
49: $29,900
50: $28,980

MORE MASTERS 2020 STORIES FROM GOLF DIGEST:
• Golf Digest’s exclusive photos from Augusta National
• Here’s the biggest course change at Augusta National and it’s not what you would think
• Tiger Woods chokes up recalling his incredible victory at Augusta in 2019
• The sad history of Dustin Johnson’s blown majors
• The parallel stats between Jack Nicklaus in 1986 and Tiger Woods in 2020 are nothing short of eerie
• This Augusta National record that’s been around since 1940 is within Dustin Johnson’s grasp
• Tiger Woods’ mind was willing but his body wasn’t on a taxing Saturday
• Starting times and pairings for Sunday’s final round at Augusta National
• Phil Mickelson matches his worst Masters score ever thanks to dreaded snowman
• Jon Rahm’s eighth hole—with a topped shot and a ball off a tree—was straight out of your foursome
• Bryson DeChambeau—who says he’s sick, feeling dizzy and numb—makes cut
• Abraham Ancer skipped practice at Augusta National for a fantastic reason last week