AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters winner just got a pay raise. Augusta National released its 2025 Prize Money Breakdown on Saturday, and the top spot has jumped from $3.6 million US to $4.2 million. The most important prizes for most of the world’s top golfers are still a green jacket and a lifetime pass into the prestigious tournament, but in these days of increasing tournament purses, it’s no surprise the home of Bobby Jones is keeping up with the Joneses.
The total purse for this year’s Masters is $21 million, an increase from $20 million last year. The largest single tournament purse on the PGA Tour is the Players Championship at $25 million, which saw Rory McIlroy take home the $4.5 million winner’s cheque last month. LIV Golf continues to offer its customary $4 million winner’s cheque and $20 million purses at each of its 14 events.
At the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934, winner Horton Smith took home $1,500 out of a $5,000 purse. The smallest major championship purse last year was the Open Championship, where winner Xander Schauffele won $3.1 million of a $17 million purse. The first Open Championship was held in 1860 with no cash prize. The first year that sport’s oldest championship featured a purse was 1863, when 10 pounds was split evenly between the eight professionals in the 14-man field. A year later, the purse was increased to 15 pounds, which included a winner’s prize of six pounds that went to Old Tom Morris.
The Masters has raised its prize money by $1 million for this year, making the total purse $21 million with $4.2 million going to the winner. The Masters will pay $52,920 to 50th place and incrementally less to the other three players below that who made the cut. The Masters also pays professionals $25,000 even if they miss the cut. The U.S. Open last year began paying professionals $10,000 if they missed the cut.
Scottie Scheffler won $3.6 million last year. Prize money at the four majors has been increasing in small amounts over the past several years. Ten years ago, Jordan Spieth earned $1.8 million for his Masters victory when the total prize fund was $10 million. The Players Championship remains the richest tournament with a $25 million purse, with $4.5 million won by Rory McIlroy last month.
The Masters golf tournament released its 2025 prize money Saturday after the cut line was settled, as is its tradition. Players will compete for a record $21 million purse, a $1 million increase over the 2024 winnings. In addition to the coveted green jacket, the winner will earn $4.2 million, a $600,000 bump versus $3.6 million last year when Scottie Scheffler won for the second time in three years at Augusta National. It marks a 14% increase, while most of the other finishes are up around 5%.
Second place is worth $2.27 million, while the golfer in third collects $1.43 million. The 37 non-amateur players who missed the cut, including Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, and Cameron Smith, will each receive $25,000 for their two days of work. Justin Rose (-8) led the tournament after two rounds, followed by Bryson DeChambeau (-7), Rory McIlroy (-6), and Corey Conners (-6).
Prize money for the tournament has soared since 2021, when it was $11.5 million ($13.8 million adjusted for inflation) and the winner’s share was $2.07 million ($2.48 million). Total prize money rose only $1.5 million between 2015 and 2021, with the later years impacted by COVID-19, but it has nearly doubled since then. Twenty years ago, The Masters’ total prize money was $7 million ($11.5 million), and Tiger Woods won $1.26 million ($2.07 million) for his third title in five years.
The recent explosion in prize money matches the rest of the golf ecosystem since the 2022 launch of LIV Golf created a competitor for the PGA Tour. The Tour paid out $643 million in 2023, including $75 million for the Tour Championship and $20 million for the Comcast Business Tour Top 10, up $125 million from the prior year. The higher stakes helped nine golfers crack the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes for 2024, versus just four in the year before LIV started. The top 10 golfers made a collective $611 million last year from prize money, bonuses, and endorsements.
Mickelson is the top career earner at the Masters with $9.8 million in 31 trips to Augusta, including three wins. He is followed by Woods ($9.6 million), Scheffler ($7 million), Jordan Spieth ($6 million), and Jon Rahm ($5.1 million). Last year, the Masters ranked second in total prize money among the four majors, behind only the U.S. Open at $21.5 million, with $4.3 million for the Open winner, DeChambeau. In May, Xander Schauffele made $3.3 million for his PGA Championship title—the total payout was $18.5 million. Schauffele also won the 2024 British Open and $3.1 million of its $17 million purse.
Here’s the prize money breakdown for the 2025 Masters as announced by tournament officials: Winner: $4.2 million; 2nd place: $2.268 million; 3rd place: $1.428 million; 4th place: $1.008 million; 5th place: $840,000; 6th place: $756,000; 7th place: $703,500; 8th place: $651,000; 9th place: $609,000; 10th place: $567,000; 11th place: $525,000; 12th place: $483,000; 13th place: $441,000; 14th place: $399,000; 15th place: $378,000; 16th place: $357,000; 17th place: $336,000; 18th place: $315,000; 19th place: $294,000; 20th place: $273,000; 21st place: $252,000; 22nd place: $235,200; 23rd place: $218,400; 24th place: $201,600; 25th place: $184,800; 26th place: $168,000; 27th place: $161,700; 28th place: $155,400; 29th place: $149,100; 30th place: $142,800; 31st place: $136,500; 32nd place: $130,200; 33rd place: $123,900; 34th place: $118,650; 35th place: $113,400; 36th place: $108,150; 37th place: $102,900; 38th place: $98,700; 39th place: $94,500; 40th place: $90,300; 41st place: $86,100; 42nd place: $81,900; 43rd place: $77,700; 44th place: $73,500; 45th place: $69,300; 46th place: $65,100; 47th place: $60,900; 48th place: $57,540; 49th place: $54,600; and 50th place: $52,920.
The remainder of the Masters field that made the cut for the weekend will receive prizes ranging downwards from $51,660. All golfers who did not make the cut receive $25,000. In 2024, the total purse for the tournament was $20 million, distributed among the best-performing golfers. Here is a list of the past winners' earnings from the Masters: 2024 winner's share: $3.6 million (Scottie Scheffler); 2023 winner's share: $3.24 million (Jon Rahm); 2022 winner's share: $2.7 million (Scottie Scheffler); 2021 winner's share: $2.07 million (Hideki Matsuyama); 2020 winner's share: $1.8 million (Dustin Johnson).
Live coverage of this year's Masters tournament will be split by ESPN and CBS, with the final two rounds on CBS. Coverage starts at 12 p.m. ET on both days, with streaming options available on various platforms.
