There are lots of benefits that come with being a major champion, but the perks of winning your major at Augusta might top them all.
First and foremost, you get the ultra-cool, custom fit, members-and-winners-only green jacket, a replica of the Masters trophy and a gold medal. And the previous year’s winner even helps you put the jacket on for the first time on TV! You also have the honor of choosing the menu for the Champions Dinner the next year, and an invitation to attend every year after that.
Then there’s the winner’s check. In 2017, Sergio Garcia brought home $1.98 million — $180,000 more than Danny Willett pocketed the year before. The winner in 2018 will bring home the same as Sergio (breakdown below).
Mo’ money, mo’ problems? Not for the winner of the Masters. The 100 world ranking points he gets for winning can easily catapult him into the rankings’ elite zone — meaning invitations to World Golf Championships, where there is no cut and thus, a continued flow of money. (Regular PGA Tour and European Tour event winners are generally awarded between 40 and 70 world ranking points, depending on the strength of the field.)
And speaking of points, a Masters win is worth 600 PGA Tour FedEx Cup points, so a player will be well on his way to qualifying for the BMW Championship and Tour Championship at the end of the season — two more tournaments with no cut. And for players hoping to make this year’s Ryder Cup team, points-earning power is doubled at the Masters and other major championships. (The European team qualifies via world ranking points and money earned in European Tour events, which include the major championships.)
Now for the exemptions. A Masters win gives you a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and a five-year exemption into the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship. You also receive an invitation to the following year’s Tournament of Champions, which takes place in Maui at the Kapaula Resort during the first week of January and is reserved only for PGA Tour winners. Oh yeah — there’s no cut in that event either.
While winners of the other major championships are limited by exemptions that generally last 10 years (or until you’re 60), perhaps the single greatest perk of winning the Masters is this: You receive a lifetime exemption into the tournament, and an honorary membership into the most storied and prestigious club in the country. In short, not a bad haul for four days of good golf!
1st: $1.98 million
2nd: $1.188 million
3rd: $748,000
4th: $528,000
5th: $440,000
6th: $396,000
7th: $368,500
8th: $341,000
9th: $319,000
10th: $297,000
11th: $275,000
12th: $253,000
13th: $231,000
14th: $209,000
15th: $198,000
16th: $187,000
17th: $176,000
18th: $165,000
19th: $154,000
20th: $143,000
21st: $132,000
22nd: $123,000
23rd: $114,400
24th: $105,600
25th: $96,800
26th: $88,000
27th: $84,700
28th: $81,400
29th: $78,100
30th: $74,800
31st: $71,500
32nd: $68,200
33rd: $64,900
34th: $62,150
35th: $59,400
36th: $56,650
37th: $53,900
38th: $51,700
39th: $49,500
40th: $47,300
41st: $45,100
42nd: $42,900
43rd: $40,700
44th: $38,500
45th: $36,300
46th: $34,100
47th: $31,900
48th: $30,140
49th: $28,600
50th: $27,720
