One of the defining characteristics of THE PLAYERS Championship, beyond being called the "fifth major" by some and boasting one of the best fields in golf and certainly on the PGA Tour, is the volatility at TPC Sawgrass. Year to year or even day to day, you never know what you're going to get. That was certainly the case for THE PLAYERS this week in the 2025 season as players competed for their prize money share and payout from the biggest purse of the season.
With winds howling and blustering on Saturday, it changed everything with relative lesser-known players like J.J. Spaun and Bud Cauley atop the leaderboard. However, the chase pack with Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Akshay Bhatia and many other big names behind them threatened to make Sunday a hectic affair — that was made even more true when tee times were moved up, put in threesomes, and going off split tees because of looming rain and wind that would've made the course nearly impossible. Needless to say, in these conditions, the winner and top finishers would more than earn their prize money.
How much money are we talking about, though? Let's take a look at the record-setting purse for THE PLAYERS Championship along with the winner's share of the prize money and the full payout distribution for all 72 players who made the cut this week at TPC Sawgrass.
The Players Championship purse 2025: Winner's prize money, total purse
The winner of THE PLAYERS Championship will receive a monster $4.5 million payday, the biggest winner's prize money on the PGA Tour, for the 2025 season. That tracks considering that THE PLAYERS also features the biggest total purse on Tour, coming in at an eye-popping $25 million. What certainly makes this event stand out even among the other biggest purses of the season, though, is that this is a full-field, regular cut event on the PGA Tour, not the limited-field signature events that also feature massive amounts of prize money on the line. Players truly have to run the gauntlet in order to cash in here.
The Players Championship payout distribution by finishing position in 2025
Finishing Position | The 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 |
Seeing how THE PLAYERS Championship payouts break down, you really start to be able to fathom just how huge a $25 million purse is. Every player who finishes in the Top 5, while they might not earn $4.5 million, will clear at least $1 million with their payday. Even more incredible is that every player inside the Top 40 (and even the player in 41st as well) will get a six-figure paycheck for their work at Sawgrass this week. They probably deserve it given the conditions that they were forced to withstand on the weekend.
Perhaps the biggest indication of the amount of prize money on the line at THE PLAYERS is actually at the bottom of the leaderboard. Even the player who finishes in 72nd, dead last among golfers who made the cut this week, will still clear $50K. That's not something you'll see at any other PGA Tour tournament.
The PGA Tour does a phenomenal job of making THE PLAYERS feel special and the purse and payouts are one of the best examples. Earning your way in can pay huge dividends, both in terms of what the bank account looks like after the week of action at Sawgrass and what it could mean for a season or career to win this event.