If there’s one tournament in golf where how much the winner makes 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 – a space in the Champions locker room, a seat at the Champions dinner and a place in golf history – is worth more than the money that will be wired to your bank account come Monday.
Still, make no mistake about it, the man who shook Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley’s hand in the Butler Cabin on Sunday made an awful lot of cash. On Saturday, the club released the purse for the 2019 tournament, with the payout to the entire 87 player field hitting an all-time high of $US11.5 million, up $500,000 from a year ago.
The champion, Tiger Woods, will make a record amount, as the club is giving out more than $2 million to the winner for the first time in Masters history. Woods will receive $2.07 million, up from the $1.98 million that Patrick Reed claimed in 2018.
Interestingly, while Augusta National bumped up its payout, it did not increase it to make it highest paying PGA Tour event or even most lucrative Major championship. Earlier this year the PGA Tour increased the purse at the Players Championship to a record $12.5 million (from $11 million in 2018), with the winner getting $2.25 million, the most ever for a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
The USGA, meanwhile, increased the purse at last year’s US Open from $10 million to $12 million in 2017, with Brooks Koepka earning $2.16 million at Erin Hills and Shinnecock Hills.
By comparison, here’s the payout for the other two men’s Majors:
• Open Championship: $US10.5 million total purse, $1.89 million to Francesco Molinari
• PGA Championship: $US11 million total purse, $1.98 million to Brooks Koepka.
What’s interesting is to track how much Woods has made during his career at Augusta. Here’s a breakdown for every year he’s competed as a professional:
[All figures in US dollars]
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
Here’s a breakdown of how much every player will make at the Masters in 2019.
[All figures in US dollars]
Win: $2,070,000
2nd: $1,242,000
3rd: $782,000
4th: $552,000
5th: $460,000
6th: $414,000
7th: $385,250
8th: $356,500
9th: $333,500
10th: $310,500
11th: $287,500
12th: $264,500
13th: $241,500
14th: $218,500
15th: $207,000
16th: $195,500
17th: $184,000
18th: $172,500
19th: $161,000
20th: $149,500
21st: $138,000
22nd: $128,800
23rd: $119,600
24th: $110,400
25th: $101,200
26th: $92,000
27th: $88,550
28th: $85,100
29th: $81,650
30th: $78,200
31st: $74,750
32nd: $71,300
33rd: $67,850
34th: $64,975
35th: $62,100
36th: $59,225
37th: $56,350
38th: $54,050
39th: $51,750
40th: $49,450
41st: $47,150
42nd: $44,850
43rd: $42,550
44th: $40,250 45th: $37,950
46th: $35,650
47th: $33,350
48th: $31,510
49th: $29,900
50th: $28,980
The remainder of the professionals will receive cash prizes ranging downward from $US28,290 depending on the scores.
