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When Jim Barnes claimed the inaugural PGA Championship title in 1916, he earned a prize money payout of $500 from an overall purse of $2,580.
Yes, times have changed.
The PGA of America announced Saturday that the players in the 2025 PGA Championship field at Quail Hollow are playing for a record $19 million, a bump of $500,000 from a year ago at Valhalla Golf Club. That also includes an increase in the first-place prize money payout. Last year Xander Schauffele banked $3.33 million for his victory. This year’s winner will take home $3.42 million.
This year, Scottie Scheffler took home $3.42 million after shooting a final-round 71 to end at 11-under-par 273 total, good for a five-shot victory over Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau and Davis Riley. Scheffler, the World No. 1, collects his third major championship—after two Masters titles—and heads to the U.S. Open at Oakmont next month as the overwhelming favorite. DeChambeau finished runner-up in the PGA for the second consecutive year. Jon Rahm was tied with Scheffler for a brief moment midway through the final round but played his last three holes in five over par—making double bogey on each of the last two holes—and tied for eighth place.
Back to the money. While a modest jump, the increase for 2025 means that the payday has jumped every year at the PGA Championship since the purse was $11 million in 2020.
As for the majors, the PGA Championship now comes in third in terms of largest purse. The U.S. Open handed out $21.5 million in 2024 while Masters increased its purse to $21 million in April. The Open Championship paid out $17 million at Royal Troon in 2024.
For perspective, here’s a look at the evolution of the prize money payout in the PGA Championship, offering a revealing glance at the trajectory of golf purses in general over the years:
Year: Winner’s Pay, Total Purse
1916: $500, $2,580 (first year of the event)
1931: $1,000, $7,200 (first year winner’s pay increased)
1953: $5,000, $20,700 (first year winner’s pay was $5K)
1958: $5,500, $39,388 (first year of stroke play, also the winner’s amount actually decreased that year)
1965: $25,000, $149,700
1978: $50,000, $300,240
1983: $100,000, $608,099
1988: $160,000, $1,000,000 (first year with a $1M total purse)
1993: $300,000, $1,702,750
1998: $540,000, $2,886,800
2000: $900,000, $5,031,100 (first year with a $5M total purse)
2003: $1,080,000, $5,938,300 (first year with $1M-plus to the winner)
2009: $1,350,000, $7,484,500
2014: $1,800,000, $9,913,000
2018: $1,980,000, $11,000,000
2021: $2,160,000, $12,000,000
2022: $2,700,000, $15,000,000
2023: $3,150,000, $17,500,000
2024: $3,300,000, $18,500,000
Here is a breakdown of the prize money payouts for every golfer who made the cut this week.
Win: Scottie Scheffler, -11/273, $3,420,000
T-2: Bryson DeChambeau, -6/278, $1,418,666.67
T-2: Harris English, -6/278, $1,418,666.67
T-2: Davis Riley, -6/278, $1,418,666.67
T-5: Jhonattan Vegas, -5/279, $694,700
T-5: Taylor Pendrith, -5/279, $694,700
T-5: J.T. Poston, -5/279, $694,700
T-8: Jon Rahm, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-8: Si Woo Kim, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-8: Keegan Bradley, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-8: Matt Fitzpatrick, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-8: Joe Highsmith, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-8: Denny McCarthy, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-8: Ryan Gerard, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-8: Ben Griffin, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-8: Joaquin Niemann, -4/280, $454,781.11
T-17: Alex Noren, -3/281, $290,925
T-17: Matt Wallace, -3/281, $290,925
T-19: Tony Finau, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-19: Adam Scott, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-19: Cam Davis, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-19: Harry Hall, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-19: Taylor Moore, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-19: Aaron Rai, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-19: Beau Hossler, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-19: Corey Conners, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-19: Sam Burns, -2/282, $193,442.22
T-28: Alex Smalley, -1/283, $115,820
T-28: Viktor Hovland, -1/283, $115,820
T-28: Marco Penge, -1/283, $115,820
T-28: Xander Schauffele, -1/283, $115,820
T-28: Ryan Fox, -1/283, $115,820
T-33: Max Greyserman, E/284, $89,192.50
T-33: Maverick McNealy, E/284, $89,192.50
T-33: Thorbjorn Olesen, E/284, $89,192.50
T-33: Daniel Berger, E/284, $89,192.50
T-37: Lucas Glover, +1/285, $75,422.50
T-37: Ryo Hisatsune, +1/285, $75,422.50
T-37: J.J. Spaun, +1/285, $75,422.50
T-37: Richard Bland, +1/285, $75,422.50
T-41: Matthieu Pavon, +2/286, $60,676.67
T-41: Michael Thorbjornsen, +2/286, $60,676.67
T-41: Eric Cole, +2/286, $60,676.67
T-41: Nico Echavarria, +2/286, $60,676.67
T-41: Tommy Fleetwood, +2/286, $60,676.67
T-41: Nicolai Hojgaard, +2/286, $60,676.67
T-47: Robert MacIntyre, +3/287, $49,190
T-47: Cameron Young, +3/287, $49,190
T-47: Rory McIlroy, +3/287, $49,190
T-50: Wyndham Clark, +4/288, $40,674
T-50: Tom McKibbin, +4/288, $40,674
T-50: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, +4/288, $40,674
T-50: Collin Morikawa, +4/288, $40,674
T-50: Kevin Yu, +4/288, $40,674
T-55: Garrick Higgo, +5/289, $32,138
T-55: Rafael Campos, +5/289, $32,138
T-55: Michael Kim, +5/289, $32,138
T-55: Brian Campbell, +5/289, $32,138
T-55: Chris Kirk, +5/289, $32,138
T-60: David Puig, +6/290, $27,014.29
T-60: Tyrrell Hatton, +6/290, $27,014.29
T-60: Max Homa, +6/290, $27,014.29
T-60: Luke Donald, +6/290, $27,014.29
T-60: Sam Stevens, +6/290, $27,014.29
T-60: Justin Lower, +6/290, $27,014.29
T-60: Brian Harman, +6/290, $27,014.29
T-67: Rasmus Hojgaard, +7/291, $24,926.67
T-67: Austin Eckroat, +7/291, $24,926.67
T-67: Sergio Garcia, +7/291, $24,926.67
70: Stephan Jaeger, +8/292, $24,240
71: Tom Kim, +9/293, $23,940
T-72: Elvis Smylie, +10/294, $23,655
T-72: Bud Cauley, +10/294, $23,655
74: Byeong Hun An, +13/297, $23,420
Players missing the cut and turning in a 36-hole score will be paid $4,000 each. Any player making the cut, but failing to submit a 72-hole score, will also be paid $4,000.
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Main Image: Maddie Meyer/PGA of America
