2024 Players Championship: Breaking down the prize money that can be won

Long regarded as golf’s fifth major, The Players Championship is one of the PGA Tour’s most iconic tournaments. Having taken place since 1974, a list of the game’s great and good have tasted success at TPC Sawgrass, and it is one of the tournaments that every PGA player wants to win. One of the reasons why the Players Championship has become so revered is that historically, it has offered a fantastic prize purse. The Players Championship payout is the most valuable of the 2024 PGA Tour season. $25 million is on offer, with the winner netting a cool $4.5 million. Let’s explore this in more detail. 

 

Players Championship Payout – breakdown 

Trumping all other tournaments as the most valuable event on the 2024 PGA Tour, the Players Championship can take a player’s career to the next level from both a legacy and financial point of view. 

Due to start on the 14th of March 2024, the $4.5 million that the lucky winner will scoop is more than the player who wins the Masters and Open will achieve. The only major that can run it close is the payout for the PGA Championship.

While the winner’s prize total rightly takes up most of the attention, the amount that can be won by those finishing down the field is also extraordinary. 

A top-ten finish is likely to award just shy of $750,000. Whilst those that finish between tenth and twentieth will win between $500,000 and $250,000. 

For those that finish inside the top 30, the payout is great, with $170,000 up for grabs. 

Cutting alone should provide plenty of incentive as those who qualify for the weekend will be able to get their hands on anywhere between $75,000 and $50,000. 

While all the money in professional golf is usually great, the Players Championship takes it to a completely different level.

Reference: Glofweek

 

How does the Players Championship payout compare to other tournaments?

Whereas the Players Championship used to stand alone as the most lucrative prize in golf, the rise of LIV Golf has completely changed the face of the game. 

A standard LIV event carries a winning purse of $4 million, and with 13 tournaments across the year, millions can be won. Talor Gooch, who was LIV’s top earner, managed to win $35 million throughout 2023.

In a bid to stop some of the PGA Tour’s best players from leaving, the PGA has created eight new signature events. With payouts 100% guaranteed in five of these tournaments, each tournament carries a $20 million prize pool. Seen as a vital step to leveling the playing field, the first few signature events of the new season seem to have taken off. 

Often held at some of the PGA Tour’s most historic venues, Wyndham Clark was the winner of the latest signature event at Pebble Beach and took home $3.6 million.

While the Players Championship remains the PGA Tour’s highest-paying event and stands above all eight signature events, the gap once between it and its rivals is quickly closing.

 

What makes the Players Championship so special?

The Players Championship has been held at TPC Sawgrass since 1982, and over the years, Sawgrass has become one of the world’s most iconic golf courses. 

Designed by legendary course designer Pete Dye, the course is situated in Florida’s Ponte Vedra Beach. What defines Sawgrass is water. Remarkably, every hole around Sawgrass’s Stadium Course has some form of water to conquer, but without a doubt, the most famous hole on the course is the 17th.

A short par 3, the 17th hole at Sawgrass has become one of the most famous holes in the world. 

Measuring just over 130 yards, the approach into the island green is one of the most daunting in the game. 

Some of the very best players have fallen foul to the 17th. In 2005, Bob Tway found the water four times, twice with his tee shots and twice with his recovery shots.

Trudging off the green with a 12, Tway’s nightmare experience remains the highest score ever posted in the tournament’s history. 

Not only are big scores a common occurrence, but for those finding themselves in contention on Sunday, any chances of victory will often hinge on the outcome of the 17th. 

If the 17th is conquered, there’s no chance for a player to relax, as the tee shot on 18 is one of the most intimidating in the game. 

With water hugging the fairway on the left-hand side, the fairway is narrow, and any errant drives can be hugely punished. A truly knee-knocking experience, winning the Players Championship is certainly no easy task. 

Reference: azcentral

 

Who has won the Players Championship?

Played amidst a daunting layout and with so much money on the line, winning at TPC Sawgrass is one of the hardest things to do in the game. 

The most prolific winner of the event is, fittingly, Jack Nicklaus. Having won the tournament’s first iteration back in 1972, the Golden Bear was also successful in 1976 and 1978.

Numerous players have won on two different occasions, with the list including Hal Sutton, Davis Love III, Steve Elkington, Fred Couples, and Tiger Woods. 

In recent times, some of this generation’s greatest players have managed to master Sawgrass. 

World number one Scottie Scheffler was simply dominant as he crushed all before him in 2023, and the Texan will be looking to become the first player in the Championship’s history to win in consecutive years. 

Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas are two other recent winners who will be looking to win this prestigious event for the second time.

Reference: golf.com