When it comes to money, numbers don’t always mean much without a little context. So, let’s provide some. In Jack Nicklaus’ Hall of Fame career on the PGA Tour, the biggest single pay cheque he ever claimed was for $144,000 from his dramatic victory at the 1986 Masters. By comparison, at this week’s WM Phoenix Open, those who tied for 23rd place earned $174,000.

Welcome to the world of “designated” events.
This week’s stop at TPC Scottsdale was the PGA Tour’s first full-field tournament sporting a supersized $20 million purse. The 13 designated events created by Jay Monahan and Co, are a response to the LIV Golf League offering huge purses as enticements to get players to move from the PGA Tour.

Comparing today’s prize money to what was paid in the past isn’t always helpful given the different eras of golf. But it shows you just how far on-course earnings have come in the sport. When you see that Sunday’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, claimed a first-place cheque of $3.6 million — equaling the biggest payday in PGA Tour history — it’s important to recall that it wasn’t until 1999 that any PGA Tour pro earned more than $2.5 million in an entire season.

Even as you scroll down the prize money payout list, consider that anything higher than a 36th-place finish earned more than $100,000. A year ago, 36th place earned just $42,000. The rewards are great for those who contend for the title, but also pretty sweet for anyone making the cut.

Win: Scottie Scheffler, -18, $3,600,000
2: Nick Taylor, -17, $2,180,000
3: Jon Rahm, -14, $1,380,000
4: Justin Thomaas, -13, $980,000
5: Jason Day, -12, $820,000
T-6: Sam Burns, -11, $652,500
T-6: Sungjae Im, -11, $652,500
T-6: Jordan Spieth, -11, $652,500
T-6: Tyrrell Hatton, -11, $652,500
T-10: Wyndham Clark, -10, $485,000
T-10: Xander Schauffele, -10, $485,000
T-10: Rickie Fowler, -10, $485,000
T-10: Adam Hadwin, -10, $485,000
T-14: Patrick Rodgers, -8, $335,000
T-14: Dylan Frittelli, -8, $335,000
T-14: Taylor Moore, -8, $335,000
T-14: Tony Finau, -8, $335,000
T-14: Charley Hoffman, -8, $335,000
T-14: Beau Hossler, -8, $335,000
T-20: Seamus Power, -7, $245,000
T-20: Sam Ryder, -7, $245,000
T-20: Keegan Bradley, -7, $245,000
T-23: Chesson Hadley, -6, $174,000
T-23: Scott Stallings, -6, $174,000
T-23: Adam Schenk, -6, $174,000
T-23: Si Woo Kim, -6, $174,000
T-23: Kirt Kitayama, -6, $174,000
T-23: Jhonattan Vegas, -6, $174,000
T-29: Hideki Matsuyama, -5, $137,000
T-29: Hayden Buckley, -5, $137,000
T-29: Matt Fitzpatrick, -5, $137,000
T-32: Billy Horschel, -4, $109,285.72
T-32: James Hahn, -4, $109,285.72
T-32: Jason Dufner, -4, $109,285.72
T-32: Rory McIlroy, -4, $109,285.71
T-32: Matt Kuchar, -4, $109,285.71
T-32: Zach Johnson, -4, $109,285.71
T-32: Kevin Tway, -4, $109,285.71
T-39: Sahith Theegala, -3, $87,000
T-39: Max Homa, -3, $87,000
T-39: Lucas Glover, -3, $87,000
T-42: Brian Harman, -2, $65,350
T-42: Viktor Hovland, -2, $65,350
T-42: K.H. Lee, -2, $65,350
T-42: Adam Long, -2, $65,350
T-42: Keith Mitchell, -2, $65,350
T-42: Ryan Palmer, -2, $65,350
T-42: Aaron Rai, -2, $65,350
T-42: Gary Woodland, -2, $65,350
T-50: Corey Conners, -1, $48,542.86
T-50: Joel Dahmen, -1, $48,542.86
T-50: Lucas Herbert, -1, $48,542.86
T-50: Tom Kim, -1, $48,542.86
T-50: Justin Lower, -1, $48,542.86
T-50: Erik van Rooyen, -1, $48,542.85
T-50: Brandon Wu, -1, $48,542.85
T-57: Danny Lee, E, $45,600
T-57: Taylor Pendrith, E, $45,600
T-57: Greyson Sigg, E, $45,600
T-57: Webb Simpson, E, $45,600
T-61: Nate Lashley, +1, $44,400
T-61: Trey Mullinax, +1, $44,400
63: Kelly Kraft, +4, $43,800
64: Cameron Young, +5, $43,400
65: Stewart Cink, +7, $43,000
66: Jim Herman, +8, $42,600