AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters will pay out a record $22.5 million in prize money this weekend, marking the largest purse ever for one of golf’s four major championships.
Sunday’s winner will receive a $4.5 million first-place prize, also the largest for a major.
Previously, the U.S. Open’s $21.5 million purse and $4.3 million winner’s check in 2025 and 2024 were the largest prize money sums for a major championship. Last year, the U.S. Open didn’t increase its prize money for the first time since 2021. The PGA Tour’s Players Championship has had a $25 million purse and $4.5 million winner’s check since 2023.
The 2026 Masters purse is up $1.5 million from $21 million in 2025. Rory McIlroy received $4.2 million for winning last year. It marks the fifth consecutive year of prize money increases for the Masters.
- 2026: $22.5 million / $4.5 million
- 2025: $21 million / $4.2 million
- 2024: $20 million / $3.6 million
- 2023: $18million / $3.24 million
- 2022: $15 million / $2.7 million
- 2021: $11.5 million / $2.07 million
There was no purse increase at the Masters from 2019 through 2021, as professional golf weathered the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, the Masters paid out $11 million, with winner Patrick Reed earning $1.98 million.
The top four finishes this at the 2026 Masters (not including ties) will all make more than $1 million.
This year, 54 players out of the 91 who started the Masters made the 36-hole cut; 50th place receives $56,700, and the last four finishers will receive cash prizes ranging downward from $55,350 depending on their final score (the club did not specify exactly how much).
The 37 players who missed the cut each receive $25,000.
As the first major championship of the year, the Masters annually sets the tone for prize money shifts at golf’s other three biggest tournaments. In 2025, the four majors paid out a combined $78.5 million.
