So much has been said about the money paid by LIV Golf to the participants in its tournaments, but now the news is that The Players Championship, organised by the PGA Tour, remains the event that awards the biggest prize to its winner.
In 2022 it lost this economic status in the face of the many lucrative tournaments put on by Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf tour, but the PGA Tour has fought back and upped the stakes. They have now ensured that their tournament with the biggest overall pot is also the most generous to its winner.
There is no doubt, however, that LIV members can get more with worse results because large amounts are spread among fewer competitors. The pot for its tournaments is 25 million dollars, except the final, which is 50 million.
In each one, the individual winner gets 4 million and the runner-up 2.125 million. There is an additional 3 million to be shared among the four members of the winning team, but this is another concept altogether.
Prizes in The Players Championship 2023
If we do not take into account the final events of the LIV or the PGA Tour-FedEx Cup, where their annual winners are awarded, The Players Championship still takes the cake. Back in 2021 there was a considerable rise with Justin Thomas taking home a 2.7 million check, but since then the winner’s earnings have skyrocketed.
Cameron Smith pocketed 3.6 million in 2022, but whoever takes this edition will earn 4.5 million, with 2.725 for second and 1.725 for third. The total purse is 25 million.
Time will tell if this is sustainable for the PGA Tour or golf as a whole, but one thing is clear and that is that the appearance of LIV and Saudi Arabia on the scene has changed the sport and forced an explosion of money as traditionalists look to save the game as they know it by spending big.
