The Players Championship tees off at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida with the the single biggest purse in the history of golf on the line. Let’s talk TPC prize money!
TPC Sawgrass is an institution unto itself. Situated just outside Jacksonville, Florida, the Bermuda grass course designed by Pete and Alice Dye has played host to The Players Championship since 1977. The event has come to be known as the PGA Tour’s “fifth major” thanks not just to its pageantry, but its massive annual pool of prize money that typically ranks as the single biggest bag in golf.
And this year, the bag has gotten even bigger. In fact, TPC’s $20 million purse for 2022 is nearly as much as the prize pool for The Masters and The Open Championship combined.
With Round 1 of the famous tournament teeing off Thursday, let’s dive into the gobsmacking, record-setting sums that Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, and more are battling for at Sawgrass.
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2022 Total Purse and Prize Money for Golf’s “Five Majors”
1. TPC Sawgrass: $20,000,000
2. US Open: $12,500,000
3. PGA Championship: $12,000,000
t-4. The Masters: $11,500,000
t-4. The Open Championship (British Open): $11,500,000
That’s right. The Players Championship’s prize money total is an incredible 60% higher than any of golf’s “actual” majors, and 73.9% higher than the two majors traditionally considered the most prestigious: The Open and The Masters.
So, how big of a piece of the $20 million pie does the TPC winner get?
2022 Winner’s Prize Money for Golf’s “Five Majors”
1. TPC Sawgrass: $3,600,000
2. US Open: $2,250,000
3. PGA Championship: $2,160,000
t-4. The Masters: $2,070,000
t-4. The Open Championship: $2,070,000
Right on cue, the man who hoists the 2022 Players Championship Trophy will take home a bag 60% bigger than the winner of the US Open, the major currently featuring the highest championship payout and 73.9% bigger than that of The Masters and The Open Championship.
As Kyle Porter of CBS Sports notes, 36 different golfers will cash out above $100,000 at The Players Championship, and even the last-place finisher takes home $43,000.
(According to the US Census Bureau, the median individual income in this country is between about $35,000 and $42,000 per year. So 43K for the last-place TPC-er isn’t too shabby.)
It’s almost like the PGA Tour has taken to heart the controversy surrounding players like Phil Mickelson’s flirtations with the moneyed, Saudi-backed Super Golf League.
Yes, in the specific parlance of Sawgrass, TPC officially stands for Tournament Players Club (not “The Players Championship” as many tend to assume). But this week — and likely for many more years to come — it may as well mean Tremendous Pools of Cash.
FanDuel Betting Odds to Win The Players Championship
Numbers reflect final pre-tournament odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Collin Morikawa: +1100
Justin Thomas: +1300
Jon Rahm: +1300
Viktor Hovland: +1700
Rory McIlroy: +1900
Patrick Cantlay: +2400
Scottie Scheffler: +2400
Xander Schauffele: +2800
Hideki Matsuyama: +3100
Cameron Smith: +3400
Dustin Johnson: +3400
Daniel Berger: +3400
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