The Players Championship is prestigious, thrilling, and truly one of the best PGA Tour events on the calendar. It also happens to be the richest purse in golf with record prize money for the winner, as well as being doled out overall. And Ludvig Åberg made his charge to take that top payout on Friday with a blistering 9-under round that gave him the lead.
The young Swede held onto that lead on a tough moving day, eyeing a signature victory at The Players and trying to hang on further. And with this prize money in the balance, that only added to the pressure. How much is the high-mark purse at TPC Sawgrass? We have all the details for The Players Championship payouts golf fans need.
The Players Championship winner's prize money, total purse for 2026
The winner of The Players Championship will take home the highest prize money total on the PGA Tour, a whopping $4.5 million. That's because the event at TPC Sawgrass also offers an unmatched purse size as well, with the total purse clocking in at $25 million. That's more than any of the four major championships, even though the prize money being handed out hasn't changed in the last four years, which speaks to how heavily the tour invests in making this event important.
Make no mistake, The Players Championship means just as much as any of the four major tournaments in part due to its purse. There's a reason it's often called the fifth major in golf's year-round par five.
The Players Championship payout distribution by finishing position
Here's a look at the full Players Championship payouts for the 73 players who made the cut this week at TPC Sawgrass.
Finishing Position | 2026 Players Championship Prize Money |
|---|---|
Winner | $4.5 million |
2nd | $2.725 million |
3rd | $1.725 million |
4th | $1.225 million |
5th | $1.025 million |
6th | $906,250 |
7th | $843,750 |
8th | $781,250 |
9th | $731, 250 |
10th | $681,250 |
11th | $631,250 |
12th | $581,250 |
13th | $531,250 |
14th | $481,250 |
15th | $456,250 |
16th | $431,250 |
17th | $406,250 |
18th | $381,250 |
19th | $356,250 |
20th | $331,250 |
21st | $306,250 |
22nd | $281,250 |
23rd | $261,250 |
24th | $241,250 |
25th | $221,250 |
26th | $201,250 |
27th | $193,750 |
28th | $186,250 |
29th | $178,750 |
30th | $171,250 |
31st | $163,750 |
32nd | $156,250 |
33rd | $148,750 |
34th | $142,500 |
35th | $136,250 |
36th | $130,000 |
37th | $123,750 |
38th | $118,750 |
39th | $113,750 |
40th | $108,750 |
41st | $103,750 |
42nd | $98,750 |
43rd | $93,750 |
44th | $88,750 |
45th | $83,750 |
46th | $78,750 |
47th | $73,750 |
48th | $69,750 |
49th | $66,250 |
50th | $64,250 |
51st | $62,750 |
52nd | $61,250 |
53rd | $60,250 |
54th | $59,250 |
55th | $58,750 |
56th | $58,250 |
57th | $57,750 |
58th | $57,250 |
59th | $56,750 |
60th | $56,250 |
61st | $55,750 |
62nd | $55,250 |
63rd | $54,750 |
64th | $54,250 |
65th | $53,750 |
66th | $53,250 |
67th | $52,750 |
68th | $52,250 |
69th | $51,750 |
70th | $51,250 |
71st | $50,750 |
72nd | $50,250 |
73rd | $49,750 |
The Players Championship purse and winners in the last 5 years
Year | Winner | Winner's Prize | Total Purse |
|---|---|---|---|
2025 Players Championship | Rory McIlroy | $4.5 million | $25 million |
2024 Players Championship | Scottie Scheffler | $4.5 million | $25 million |
2023 Players Championship | Scottie Scheffler | $4.5 million | $25 million |
2022 Players Championship | Cameron Smith | $3.6 million | $20 million |
2021 Players Championship | Justin Thomas | $2.7 million | $15 million |
En route to becoming the richest purse in golf, we've seen the prize money skyrocket — even though it's plateaued at the $25 million mark since increasing to that point in 2023. Heck, for his back-to-back wins, Scheffler made a ridiculous $9 million at TPC Sawgrass alone. That's ludicrous in itself.
But it gets even crazier when you consider just how substantially the purse jumped in such a short time. From 2021 to 2023, the total purse size increased by $10 million — which is more than the total purse of some PGA Tour events — and the winner's share leapt almost $2 million. That's truly absurd, and even more so when you consider that the 2019 winner, Rory, won just $2.25 million from a $12.5 million purse.
That being said, it's hard to foresee the purse increasing again from this point. Even still, it most definitely pays (and pays well) to play well at The Players Championship.