It’s a sign of the times in men’s professional golf. The question wasn’t whether the PGA of America was going to increase its prize money payout for each golfer at this year’s PGA Championship to another record payday. Rather, it was by how much.
That amount turned out to be $1 million, the PGA of America announcing Saturday that its overall purse had jumped to $18.5 million with the winner on Sunday at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville taking home $3.33 million.
To put that number in perspective, just four years ago at TPC Harding Park, the overall purse was $11 million. But then the PGA of America bumped the amount by $1 million for the 2021 PGA at Kiawah, $3 million more for the 2022 PGA at Southern Hills and another $2.5 million for the 2023 PGA at Oak Hill.
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; 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
The latest jump, however, leaves the PGA Championship’s purse shy of the $20 million paydays offered in the PGA Tour’s new signature events as well as the $20 million paydays being played for individually on the LIV Golf circuit.
Here is a breakdown of the prize money payouts for each place in the field.
Win: Xander Schauffele, -21//263, $3,330,000
2: Bryson DeChambeau, -20/264, $1,998,000
3: Viktor Hovland, -18/266, $1,258,000
T-4: Thomas Detry, -15/269, $814,000
T-4: Collin Morikawa, -15/269, $814,000
T-6: Shane Lowry, -14/270, $639,440
T-6: Justin Rose, -14/270, $639,440
T-8: Robert MacIntyre, -13/271, $521,417.50
T-8: Justin Thomas, -13/271, $521,417.50
T-8: Scottie Scheffler, -13/271, $521,417.50
T-8: Billy Horschel, -13/271, $521,417.50
T-12: Dean Burmester, -12/272, $359,943.33
T-12: Lee Hodges, -12/272, $359,943.33
T-12: Taylor Moore, -12/272, $359,943.33
T-12: Rory McIlroy, -12/272, $359,943.33
T-12: Alex Noren, -12/272, $359,943.33
T-12: Sahith Theegala, -12/272, $359,943.33
T-18: Tony Finau, -11/273, $230,764
T-18: Harris English, -11/273, $230,764
T-18: Austin Eckroat, -11/273, $230,764
T-18: Keegan Bradley, -11/273, $230,764
T-18: Ryo Hisatsune, -11/273, $230,764
T-23: Russell Henley, -10/274, $170,136.67
T-23: Tom Hoge, -10/274, $170,136.67
T-23: Maverick McNealy, -10/274, $170,136.67
T-26: Tom Kim, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-26: Mark Hubbard, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-26: Ben Kohles, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-26: Kurt Kitayama, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-26: Min Woo Lee, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-26: Brian Harman, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-26: Corey Conners, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-26: Brooks Koepka, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-26: Tommy Fleetwood, -9/275, $113,962.22
T-35: Hideki Matsuyama, -8/276, $79,182.50
T-35: Max Homa, -8/276, $79,182.50
T-35: Doug Ghim, -8/276, $79,182.50
T-35: Brice Garnett, -8/276, $79,182.50
T-39: Aaron Rai, -7/277, $66,847.50
T-39: Alexander Bjork, -7/277, $66,847.50
T-39: Joaquin Niemann, -7/277, $66,847.50
T-39: Jordan Smith, -7/277, $66,847.50
T-43: Jordan Spieth, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Matt Wallace, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Jason Day, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Will Zalatoris, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Lucas Glover, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Adam Svensson, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Byeong Hun An, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Grayson Murray, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Dustin Johnson, -6/278, $48,969
T-43: Lucas Herbert, -6/278, $48,969
T-53: Zac Blair, -5/279, $32,587.14
T-53: Thorbjorn Olesen, -5/279, $32,587.14
T-53: Patrick Reed, -5/279, $32,587.14
T-53: Jeper Svensson, -5/279, $32,587.14
T-53: Patrick Cantlay, -5/279, $32,587.14
T-53: Erik van Rooyen, -5/279, $32,587.14
T-53: Andrew Putnam, -5/279, $32,587.14
T-60: Gary Woodland, -4/280, $27,016.67
T-60: Adam Hadwin, -4/280, $27,016.67
T-60: Talor Gooch, -4/280, $27,016.67
T-63: Cameron Smith, -3/281, $26,000
T-63: Tyrrell Hatton, -3/281, $25,202
T-63: Cameron Young, -3/281, $25,202
T-63: Rickie Fowler, -3/281, $25,202
T-63: S.H. Kim, -3/281, $25,202
T-68: Nicolai Hojgaard, -2/282, $23,537.50
T-68: Luke Donald, -2/282, $23,537.50
T-68: Rasmus Hojgaard, -2/282, $23,537.50
T-68: Sebastian Soderberg, -2/282, $23,537.50
72: Braden Shattuck (PGA pro), -1/283, $22,830
T-73: Martin Kaymer, E/284, $22,560
T-73: Alejandro Tosti, E/284, $22,560
75: Ryan Fox, +2/286, $22,350
76: Stephan Jaeger, +5/289, $22,230
77: Jeremy Wells (PGA pro), +6/290, $22,140
78: Brendon Todd, +9/293, $22,100
Players missing the cut and turning in a 36-hole score were paid $4,000 each. Any player making the cut but failing to submit a 72-hole score were also be paid $4,000.
Image: Ben Jared
