Augusta National has never been a place that talks about money. The green jacket does not come with a price tag stitched into the lining. But the numbers have grown too large to ignore, and the Masters 2026 prize money reflects a tournament that knows exactly where it stands in professional golf's financial arms race.
Masters 2026 Total Purse
The 2026 Masters total purse was $22.5 million, a $1.5 million rise on the $21 million record set in 2025. Augusta National announced it on the Saturday of tournament week, once the cut had been made. The club has raised the purse every year since LIV Golf arrived, from $15 million in 2022 to $18 million in 2023, $20 million in 2024, $21 million in 2025 and now $22.5 million.
When it was announced, it was the biggest purse of golf's four majors. The U.S. Open matched the $4.5 million winner's cheque two months later. Augusta National has never chased the biggest number. It does not need to. The green jacket carries a currency no purse can match.
For context, the total purse at the first Masters in 1934 was $5,000. Horton Smith won the inaugural event and took home $1,500. Adjusted for inflation with the US consumer price index, that is roughly $37,000 in today's money. Rory McIlroy's 2026 cheque was 3,000 times the size of Smith's.
How Much Does the Masters Winner Get Paid?
The Masters winner's share is 20% of the total purse. In 2026 that came to $4.5 million, and it went to Rory McIlroy. He finished at 12 under par, one shot clear of Scottie Scheffler, and became only the fourth man to win back-to-back Masters, after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.
McIlroy had earned $4.2 million for his 2025 victory, completing the career Grand Slam in the process. Scottie Scheffler collected $3.6 million when he won in 2024 from the $20 million purse. Jon Rahm took home $3.24 million in 2023. Tiger Woods received $2.07 million for his storied 2019 comeback win, when the purse stood at $11.5 million. The growth tells you everything about where the sport has gone financially in half a decade.
Beyond the cheque, the champion receives the green jacket and the exemptions that come with a major title. The unofficial benefits, the endorsement leverage, the invitations, the access, are worth multiples of the prize money itself. If you want to follow who is in the best form heading into Augusta, our guide to golf this week shows where to find live scores across the tours.
Full Masters 2026 Payout Breakdown by Position
The 2026 payouts follow the familiar sliding scale: 20% to the winner, 10.8% to second, 6.8% to third. Fifty-four players made the cut, and every one of them was paid on finishing position. Tied players split the money for the places they occupy, which is why four men sharing third each took $1,080,000 rather than $1,530,000. Here is the official payout by position.
| Position | Percentage | Official Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 20.0% | $4,500,000 |
| 2nd | 10.8% | $2,430,000 |
| 3rd | 6.8% | $1,530,000 |
| 4th | 4.8% | $1,080,000 |
| 5th | 4.0% | $900,000 |
| 6th | 3.6% | $810,000 |
| 7th | 3.35% | $753,750 |
| 8th | 3.1% | $697,500 |
| 9th | 2.9% | $652,500 |
| 10th | 2.7% | $607,500 |
| 11th | 2.5% | $562,500 |
| 12th | 2.3% | $517,500 |
| 13th | 2.1% | $472,500 |
| 14th | 1.9% | $427,500 |
| 15th | 1.8% | $405,000 |
| 16th | 1.7% | $382,500 |
| 17th | 1.6% | $360,000 |
| 18th | 1.5% | $337,500 |
| 19th | 1.4% | $315,000 |
| 20th | 1.3% | $292,500 |
| 21st to 25th | 1.2% to 0.88% | $270,000 to $198,000 |
| 26th to 30th | 0.8% to 0.68% | $180,000 to $153,000 |
| 31st to 40th | 0.65% to 0.43% | $146,250 to $96,750 |
| 41st to 50th | 0.41% to 0.252% | $92,250 to $56,700 |
Who Earned What at the 2026 Masters
The money landed like this at the top of the final leaderboard.
| Finish | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | $4,500,000 |
| 2 | Scottie Scheffler | $2,430,000 |
| T3 | Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Cameron Young | $1,080,000 each |
| T7 | Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns | $725,625 each |
| T9 | Xander Schauffele, Max Homa | $630,000 each |
| 11 | Jake Knapp | $562,500 |
| T12 | Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed | $427,500 each |
| T18 | Matt Fitzpatrick, Maverick McNealy, Viktor Hovland | $315,000 each |
| T21 | Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley, Ludvig Åberg | $252,000 each |
Further down, Jon Rahm tied for 38th and collected $101,250. Charl Schwartzel, last of the 54 who played the weekend, took $52,200.
The gap between first and second was more than $2 million. That is the cost of a single dropped shot at the wrong time, a three-putt on the 72nd hole, a tee shot that catches the water at Rae's Creek. Every player who has stood on the 12th tee on Sunday with a chance to win understands what those numbers mean in the most practical sense possible.
Even the last man to make the cut took home $52,200. Professionals who missed it were paid $25,000 each.
Masters Prize Money History
The growth of the Masters purse tracks the growth of professional golf itself. Here are the key milestones.
| Year | Total Purse | Winner's Share | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | $5,000 | $1,500 | Horton Smith |
| 1954 | $25,000 | $5,000 | Sam Snead |
| 1967 | Not confirmed | $20,000 | Gay Brewer |
| 1975 | Not confirmed | $40,000 | Jack Nicklaus |
| 1986 | $785,000 | $144,000 | Jack Nicklaus |
| 1997 | $2,700,000 | $486,000 | Tiger Woods |
| 2001 | $5,600,000 | $1,008,000 | Tiger Woods |
| 2010 | $7,500,000 | $1,350,000 | Phil Mickelson |
| 2019 | $11,500,000 | $2,070,000 | Tiger Woods |
| 2022 | $15,000,000 | $2,700,000 | Scottie Scheffler |
| 2023 | $18,000,000 | $3,240,000 | Jon Rahm |
| 2024 | $20,000,000 | $3,600,000 | Scottie Scheffler |
| 2025 | $21,000,000 | $4,200,000 | Rory McIlroy |
| 2026 | $22,500,000 | $4,500,000 | Rory McIlroy |
Two inflection points stand out. The first came in the late 1990s when Tiger Woods transformed golf's commercial appeal and the Masters purse more than doubled in four years, from $2.7 million in 1997 to $5.6 million in 2001. The second arrived in 2022-2023, when LIV Golf's emergence coincided with the PGA Tour and the major championships sharply raising prize money. The Masters purse jumped $3 million in a single year between 2022 and 2023, then another $2 million in 2024, $1 million in 2025 and $1.5 million in 2026.
The PGA Tour schedule for 2026 shows the full picture of how prize money is distributed across the season, and the Masters remains one of the focal points of the year.
What the Masters Champion Actually Takes Home After Taxes
Here is where the green jacket story gets less romantic. The winner does not walk away with $4.5 million in the bank. Not even close.
Federal income tax takes the first bite. In 2026 the top federal rate of 37% starts at $640,600 for a single filer, so almost all of a $4.5 million cheque is taxed at that rate. As a rough estimate before deductions, that is about $1.6 million to the IRS. Georgia state income tax adds another layer. For international players, the calculus shifts depending on tax treaties between the United States and their home country.
Then come the professional expenses. The caddie, who read the putts and kept the player's head straight for 72 holes, takes a cut. So does the agent. A swing coach, a putting coach, a fitness trainer, travel expenses for the week, all of these come off the top.
What is left depends on the player's team structure and tax situation, but it is a long way short of the headline figure. Still a life-changing number.
How Masters Prize Money Compares to Other Majors
The four major championships have been locked in an unofficial spending war since LIV Golf disrupted the professional game's economics in 2022. Here is what each 2026 champion was paid.
| Major | 2026 Champion | Winner's Share |
|---|---|---|
| The Masters | Rory McIlroy | $4,500,000 |
| PGA Championship | Aaron Rai | $3,690,000 |
| U.S. Open | Wyndham Clark | $4,500,000 |
| The Open Championship | Ryan Fox | $3,200,000 |
The Masters and the U.S. Open shared the top of the table in 2026, with identical $4.5 million winner's cheques. A year earlier the U.S. Open had the edge, with a $21.5 million purse to the Masters' $21 million, while the PGA Championship paid out $19 million and The Open $17 million.
LIV Golf events pay big individual purses plus separate team payouts. But the majors offer something LIV events cannot: FedExCup points and the historical weight that defines careers. No one measures greatness in prize money. They measure it in majors won.
For how the week looked before a ball was struck, our Masters 2026 predictions broke down the field tier by tier. And the Masters 2026 results covers how the week played out.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Masters 2026 purse?
The 2026 Masters purse was $22.5 million, up from $21 million in 2025. Augusta National announced it on the Saturday of tournament week.
How much does the Masters winner get paid?
The Masters winner receives 20% of the total purse. In 2026 Rory McIlroy took $4.5 million before taxes and expenses.
Do amateur players receive prize money at the Masters?
No. Amateurs who play the Masters do not receive prize money. None of the six amateurs in the 2026 field made the cut, the second year running.
Has the Masters purse increased because of LIV Golf?
The timing strongly suggests it. The purse jumped from $15 million in 2022 to $18 million in 2023, $20 million in 2024, $21 million in 2025 and $22.5 million in 2026, coinciding directly with LIV Golf's launch and the subsequent PGA Tour financial restructuring.
How much did the 2025 Masters winner earn?
Rory McIlroy earned $4,200,000 for his 2025 Masters victory, completing the career Grand Slam. He won again in 2026 and collected $4,500,000.
What percentage of the purse does the Masters winner receive?
The winner receives 20% of the total purse. In 2026 that was $4.5 million of $22.5 million.
Do players who miss the cut get paid at the Masters?
The Masters pays professionals who miss the cut a fixed amount: $25,000 each in both 2025 and 2026. Only those who make the cut receive a share of the purse based on finishing position.
Published by GolfMode Editorial. Every article is researched and fact-checked against official tour and championship sources, and updated when the facts change. Learn about our editorial approach.
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