The Biggest Checks, Purses And First Prizes In Golf

Whoever conquers Royal Liverpool this week to lift the famous Claret Jug will also be rewarded financially, handsomely so, with the winner receiving a $3m payout.

The check for finishing first is the biggest it has ever been in golf’s oldest Major Championship, but The Open is not the most lucrative tournament in professional golf – far from it.

Compared to prize funds and first prizes in other individual sports, golf comes out on top, especially when you look at the money that’s on offer for competitors on a week to week basis.

The Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour has taken prize money to a new level, too, which means professional golfers have never had a better opportunity to secure their financial futures.

Wherever today’s elite professional golfers are playing around the world, there’s good money to be made in the professional game, with some tournaments in particular offering eye-watering sums of money, and not just for the winners, either – players might miss the cut and still take home a decent wedge.

Here, we list the most lucrative official golf tournaments in the professional game according to the 2022/23 season, as well as individual checks for bonuses and season-ending rewards.

Biggest Tournament Checks

• The Players Championship, purse $25m, first $4.5m
• LIV Golf Mayakoba, purse $25m*, first $4m**
• LIV Golf Tucson, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Orlando, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Adelaide, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Singapore, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Tulsa, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf DC, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Andalucía, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf London, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Greenbrier, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Bedminster, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Chicago, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Jeddah, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Miami, purse $25m, first $4m 
• US Open, purse $20m, first $3.6m *Major
• Phoenix Open, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• The Genesis Invitational, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• Arnold Palmer Invitational, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• RBC Heritage, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• Wells Fargo Championship, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• the Memorial Tournament, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• Travelers Championship, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, purse $20m, first $3.5m
• Masters, purse $18m, first £3,240,000 *Major
• PGA Championship, purse $17.5m, first $3.15m *Major
• Open Championship, purse $16.5m, first $3m *Major

* Applicable for each of the 14 2023 LIV Golf tournaments – $20m for the individual event and $5m for the team event

** Applicable for each of the 14 2023 LIV Golf tournaments – $4m for the individual event winner, with additional $3m ($750,000 per player) for winners of the team event, so the potential for a $4.75m first prize

The 14 LIV Golf tournaments dominate this list, with only The Players Championship coming close. Strictly speaking, golf's 'unofficial Fifth Major' offers the best individual first prize, with Scottie Scheffler scooping $4.5m for winning the PGA Tour's flagship event in March 2023. 

However, it's possible for players on LIV to take home $4.75m if they win both the individual and team event that each of the 14 tournaments features, as Talor Gooch did in Singapore.

LIV Prize Money By Event

• LIV Golf Mayakoba, purse $25m*, first $4m**
• LIV Golf Tucson, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Orlando, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Adelaide, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Singapore, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Tulsa, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf DC, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Andalucía, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf London, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Greenbrier, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Bedminster, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Chicago, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Jeddah, purse $25m, first $4m
• LIV Golf Miami, purse $25m, first $4m

PGA Tour Designated Event Purses And First Prizes

PGA Tour designated, or elevated, events are 17 tournaments running from January to August 2023 that will have all of the best players competing for increased purses.

It's worth noting that the 2024 season will feature eight Designated events that will have fields of 70-78 players competing for elevated purses and FedExCup points.

• The Players Championship, purse $25m, first $4.5m
• US Open, purse $20m, first $3.6m *Major
• The Genesis Invitational, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• Arnold Palmer Invitational, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• RBC Heritage, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• Wells Fargo Championship, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• the Memorial Tournament, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• Travelers Championship, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• Phoenix Open, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• FedEx St. Jude Championship, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• BMW Championship, purse $20m, first $3.6m
• WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, purse $20m, first $3.5m
• Masters, purse $18m, first £3,240,000 *Major
• PGA Championship, purse $17.5m, first $3.15m *Major
• Open Championship, purse $16.5m, first $3m *Major
• Sentry Tournament Of Champions, purse $15m, first $2.7m

Other Big Paydays - PIP and season-ending bonuses 

Individual wins and big paydays are good. End-of-season paydays and additional bonuses are even better – and there are a number of other big checks worth winning in golf.

For example, the Player Impact Program (PIP), introduced by the PGA Tour to reward its most impactful players, was set at $100m in 2022, a sum shared among the 20 players deemed to have boosted engagement, reach and publicity, with Tiger Woods earning himself a nice $15m bonus. 

• 2023 The TOUR Championship, purse $75m, FedEx Cup winner $18m
• 2023 LIV Golf individual season winner $18m
• 2022 Player Impact Program (PIP) winner $15m 
• 2023 LIV Golf individual season runner-up $8m
• 2023 LIV Golf individual season third $8m
• 2022 DP World Tour Championship, purse $10m, winner $3m