WGC-Match Play Purse And Prize Money
The sixth designated event of 2023 sees a record purse for the five-day tournament at Austin Country Club
This week sees the last WGC-Match Play at Austin Country Club for the foreseeable future.
While PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has hinted it may return at some point, if it is to be the final time it is in the schedule, the event seems destined to go out in style.
As well as a predictably stellar field, including eight of the world’s top 10, the tournament will also have a record purse of $20m, an enormous jump on last year’s prize fund of $12m.
Back then, Scottie Scheffler reached the World No.1 position for the first time thanks to his win, and claimed a substantial $2.1m for his efforts. This year, though, whoever wins will take home an incredible $3.5million. While that’s still $1m less than the prize money Scheffler claimed for his victory in The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass earlier in the month, it is a figure that was virtually unprecedented just a year ago.
Of course, much has changed since then, with the introduction of designated events to counter the LIV Golf threat. This week’s tournament is the sixth such event since the turn of the year, hence the eye-catching prize money.
Aside from The Players Championship, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, WM Phoenix Open, Genesis Invitational and Arnold Palmer Invitational have each benefitted from the boost in profile - and purses - this year.
However, while the latter three had identical purses to this week’s tournament, the distribution of them was slightly different. That means the winner’s share this week will be $100,000 lower than the other $20m tournaments in 2023.
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In contrast, the runner-up will receive $2.2m this week, $20,000 more than those who finished second in the previous tournaments. Meanwhile, even the player finishing in 64th will receive $66,667 for his three days of action.
Jon Rahm has been the big earner on the PGA Tour this year thanks largely to his three wins including two in designated events. That momentum has stalled slightly in recent weeks thanks to his disappointing tie for 39th in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and withdrawal through illness in The Players Championship the following week.
Victory for the Spaniard this week, though, would see him within striking distance of Scheffler’s total earnings for last year, highlighting just how swelled the purses have become this year in comparison to last.
As well as the substantial financial incentive, the winner of this week’s event will also earn 550 FedEx Cup points, plus the honour of being potentially the last player to lift the distinctive Walter Hagen Cup.
Below is the full prize money breakdown for the 2023 WGC-Match Play.
WGC-Match Play Prize Money Breakdown 2023
Position | Prize Money |
---|---|
1st | $3,500,000 |
2nd | $2,200,000 |
3rd | $1,420,000 |
4th | $1,141,667 |
5th | $643,333 |
6th | $643,333 |
7th | $643,333 |
8th | $643,333 |
9th | $366,667 |
10th | $366,667 |
11th | $366,667 |
12th | $366,667 |
13th | $366,667 |
14th | $366,667 |
15th | $366,667 |
16th | $366,667 |
17th | $273,333 |
18th | $256,667 |
19th | $246,667 |
20th | $236,667 |
21st | $226,667 |
22nd | $216,667 |
23rd | $208,333 |
24th | $200,000 |
25th | $193,333 |
26th | $186,667 |
27th | $180,000 |
28th | $173,333 |
29th | $166,667 |
30th | $160,000 |
31st | $155,000 |
32nd | $150,000 |
33rd | $145,000 |
34th | $140,000 |
35th | $135,000 |
36th | $130,000 |
37th | $125,000 |
38th | $120,000 |
39th | $116,667 |
40th | $113,333 |
41st | $110,000 |
42nd | $106,667 |
43rd | $103,333 |
44th | $100,000 |
45th | $96,667 |
46th | $93,333 |
47th | $90,000 |
48th | $86,667 |
49th | $85,000 |
50th | $83,333 |
51st | $81,667 |
52nd | $80,000 |
53rd | $78,333 |
54th | $76,667 |
55th | $75,000 |
56th | $73,333 |
57th | $72,500 |
58th | $71,667 |
59th | $70,833 |
60th | $70,000 |
61st | $69,167 |
62nd | $68,333 |
63rd | $67,500 |
64th | $66,667 |
What Is The Prize Money For The WGC-Match Play
Like three of the previous five designated events in 2023, the purse for the WGC-Match Play is $20m. However, the winner will earn $3.5m as opposed to the $3.6m on offer in the earlier tournaments. The runner-up will win $2.2m, while there is even an attractive sum for the player finishing last - $66,667.
Where Is The WGC-Match Play?
The tournament is hosted by Austin Country Club in Texas - one of the most exclusive clubs in the state. The course has been the home of the WGC-Match Play since 2016, but this will be its final year, at least for the foreseeable future.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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