The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass is the most important tournament on the PGA Tour. Accordingly, the US Tour pays out the most prize money at the so-called “flagship tournament” in Florida. This year, the prize money is – once again – at a record level and significantly higher than the financial contributions of the majors. The Players Championship 2023 awards prize money of 25 million US dollars.
Players Championship prize money: PGA Tour draws level with LIV
This increases the purse by five million compared to the previous year, when Cameron Smith took home 3.6 million US dollars. In 2022, the prize money had already risen from 15 to 20 million. The PGA Tour saw itself forced to distribute significantly more prize money in the face of threatening competition from LIV Golf. The Players is one of the new Designated Events, which are endowed with an average of 20 million US dollars. As the flagship event, however, the “fifth major” stands out once again and draws level with the competition.
The tournaments of the LIV Golf League are also worth 25 million dollars each. One fifth of the prize money is intended for the team ranking of the Saudi League, the rest is paid to all 48 players in the individual ranking. At TPC Sawgrass, however, as usual only the 65 best and tied players who make the cut after two rounds will receive a share of the opulent prize money (see table below).
Fifth place earns seven figures
The winner of the Players Championship 2023 will walk away from Ponte Vedra Beach with a massive 4.5 million US dollars, while the runner-up will receive even more prize money (2.75 million) than, for example, Scottie Scheffler earned at the US Masters 2022. Even the fifth-placed player can be happy about more than one million US dollars.
By comparison, the major tournaments awarded significantly less prize money than the Players Championship or the new Designated Events in addition to the prestigious trophies last year. The US Masters 2022 offered 15 million US dollars, as did the PGA Championship 2022. The US Open 2022 gave the players a total of 17.5 million, the British Open 14 million US dollars. The prize money of the majors is typically only announced shortly before the respective tournaments. This year, the pots are likely to be bigger as well.
Prize money breakdown of the Players Championship 2023
| Rank | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|
| 1. | 4,500,000 |
| 2. | 2,725,000 |
| 3. | 1,725,000 |
| 4. | 1,225,000 |
| 5. | 1,025,000 |
| 6. | 906,250 |
| 7. | 843,750 |
| 8. | 781,250 |
| 9. | 731,250 |
| 10. | 681,250 |
| 11. | 631,250 |
| 12. | 581,250 |
| 13. | 531,250 |
| 14. | 481,250 |
| 15. | 456,250 |
| 16. | 431,250 |
| 17. | 406,250 |
| 18. | 381,250 |
| 19. | 356,250 |
| 20. | 331,250 |
| 21. | 306,250 |
| 22. | 281,250 |
| 23. | 261,250 |
| 24. | 241,250 |
| 25. | 221,250 |
| 26. | 201,250 |
| 27. | 193,750 |
| 28. | 186,250 |
| 29. | 178,750 |
| 30. | 171,250 |
| 31. | 163,750 |
| 32. | 156,250 |
| 33. | 148,750 |
| 34. | 142,500 |
| 35. | 136,250 |
| 36. | 130,000 |
| 37. | 123,750 |
| 38. | 118,750 |
| 39. | 113,750 |
| 40. | 108,750 |
| 41. | 103,750 |
| 42. | 98,750 |
| 43. | 93,750 |
| 44. | 88,750 |
| 45. | 83,750 |
| 46. | 78,750 |
| 47. | 73,750 |
| 48. | 69,750 |
| 49. | 66,250 |
| 50. | 64,250 |
| 51. | 62,750 |
| 52. | 61,250 |
| 53. | 60,250 |
| 54. | 59,250 |
| 55. | 58,750 |
| 56. | 58,250 |
| 57. | 57,750 |
| 58. | 57,250 |
| 59. | 56,750 |
| 60. | 56,250 |
| 61. | 55,750 |
| 62. | 55,250 |
| 63. | 54,750 |
| 64. | 54,250 |
| 65. | 53,750 |