PGA purse: How the PGA Championship payout compares to other majors

The 2019 PGA Championship purse offers a staggering amount of money: $11 million, which is the same amount as last year’s championship. The winner will receive the a whopping $1.98 million, with $1.188 million going to the runner up.

It’s an awesome payout to be sure, but how does it compare to golf’s important events and major championships?

Surprisingly, the PGA Championship is not even the richest event on the schedule. The largest purse in the game is actually offered by the Players Championship, which put up a massive $13.5 million purse in 2019, with $2.25 million going to winner Rory McIlroy. The U.S. Open had a $12 million purse in 2018, with champion Brooks Kopeka taking home $2.16 million. The British Open has the smallest purse of any major golf event, with $10.5 million total and $1.89 million going to winner Francesco Molinari in 2018.

The winner of the PGA Championship has gone home with more than a million dollars since 2003. Incredibly, just 10 years prior to that in 1993, the winner took home just $300,000. The total purse in 1995 was just about equal to the winner’s share from this year’s championship.

Tiger Woods holds the current record for most money won from the PGA Championship, with $7,299,262.49 from 19 championships. Rory McIlroy is next, with $4,601.649.99 in 10 championships, then Phil Mickelson with $4,270,215.66 in 26 championships. Tiger has won the PGA Championship four times, while Mickelson has won once and McIlroy has won twice.

On the PGA Tour, purses generally vary between $6 million and $9 million dollars. There are only a handful of events on the annual schedule that offer less than $1 million to the winner.

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