It’s not often Augusta National finds itself lagging behind in, well, just about anything. Yet with the recent rise in prizemoney payouts on the PGA Tour, thanks to its new designated events, and creation of the upstart LIV Golf League and its eye-popping purses, the $US15 million that was up for grabs in at the 2022 Masters looks, well, “ordinary.” OK, that’s a little extreme. But you get the idea.
It will be interesting, then, to see what the Masters does when revealing the official purse for 2023, which is expected to be announced some time after the 36-hole is made. Last year’s $15 million purse was an increase of $3.5 million from 2021, with the winner, Scottie Scheffler, taking home $US2.7 million compared to Hideki Matsuyama making $2.07 million the year before. At the time, it made the Masters the most lucrative of the four men’s majors, although that would change shortly after when the USGA boosted the US Open prizemoney payout to $17.5 million.
As for the other Majors, the PGA Championship also increased its purse to $15 million last year and the Open Championship paid out $14 million. All the majors are currently are outpaced by the Players Championship, which paid out $25 million in March with winner Scottie Scheffler earning $4.5 million.
Here is the 2023 Masters prizemoney breakdown (all figures in US dollars):
1st $3,240,000
2nd $1,944,000
3rd $1,224,000
4th $864,000
5th $720,000
6th $648,000
7th $603,000
8th $558,000
9th $522,000
10th $486,000
11th $450,000
12th $414,000
13th $378,000
14th $342,000
15th $324,000
16th $306,000
17th $288,000
18th $270,000
19th $252,000
20th $234,000
21st $216,000
22nd $201,600
23rd $187,200
24th $172,800
25th $158,400
26th $144,000
27th $138,600
28th $133,200
29th $127,800
30th $122,400
31st $117,000
32nd $111,600
33rd $111,600
34th $101,700
35th $97,200
36th- $92,700
37th $88,200
38th $84,600
39th $81,000
40th $77,400
41st $73,800
42nd $70,200
43rd $66,600
44th $63,000
45th $59,400
46th $55,800
47th $52,200
48th $49,320
49th $46,800
50th $45,360
The remainder of the professionals will receive cash prizes ranging downward from $44,280 depending on scores.
And here’s the evolution of how much the champion has earned over the years:
1934: $1,500 1935: $1,500 1936: $1,500 1937: $1,500 1938: $1,500 1939: $1,500 1940: $1,500 1941: $1,500 1942: $1,500 1943-’45: No Masters (WWII) 1946: $2,500 1947: $2,500 1948: $2,500 1949: $2,750 1950: $2,400 1951: $3,000 1952: $4,000 1953: $4,000 1954: $5,000 1955: $5,000 1956: $6,000 1957: $8,750 1958: $11,250 1959: $15,000 1960: $17,500 1961: $20,000 1962: $20,000 1963: $20,000 1964: $20,000 1965: $20,000 1966: $20,000 1967: $20,000 1968: $20,000 1969: $20,000 1970: $25,000 1971: $25,000 1972: $25,000 1973: $30,000 1974: $35,000 1975: $40,000 1976: $40,000 1977: $40,000 1978: $45,000 1979: $50,000 1980: $55,000 1981: $60,000 1982: $64,000 1983: $90,000 1984: $108,000 1985: $126,000 1986: $144,000 1987: $162,000 1988: $183,800 1989: $200,000 1990: $225,000 1991: $243,000 1992: $270,000 1993: $306,000 1994: $360,000 1995: $396,000 1996: $450,000 1997: $486,000 1998: $576,000 1999: $720,000 2000: $828,000 2001: $1,008,000 2002: $1,008,000 2003: $1,080,000 2004: $1,117,000 2005: $1,260,000 2006: $1,260,000 2007: $1,305,000 2008: $1,350,000 2009: $1,350,000 2010: $1,350,000 2011: $1,440,000 2012: $1,440,000 2013: $1,440,000 2014: $1,620,000 2015: $1,800,000 2016: $1,800,000 2017: $1,980,000 2018: $1,980,000 2019: $2,070,0002020: $2,070,0002021: $2,070,0002022: $2,700,000
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FULL MASTERS COVERAGE:
https://www.australiangolfdigest.com.au/tournaments/themasters/
