Follow the Money: How Golf Became a High-Stakes Game—And What It Means for the Rest of Us
I’ve been covering professional golf for 35 years, and I’ve seen this game transform in ways that would’ve seemed like science fiction back when I was caddying for Tom Lehman. But nothing—and I mean nothing—has shifted the entire landscape quite like the prize money explosion we’re witnessing right now.
When I first started on the tour beat in the late ’80s, winning a major championship was worth somewhere in the neighborhood of half a million dollars. You got your trophy, your jacket or claret jug, the respect of your peers, and yes, a nice check. But it wasn’t life-altering money in the way we think about it today. Now? We’re talking generational wealth for a single tournament victory.
The FedExCup Changed Everything
The real turning point came in 2007 when the PGA Tour introduced the FedExCup Playoffs. I remember skeptics wondering if anyone would actually care about a made-for-TV playoff series. We were wrong. The Tour understood something fundamental: fans care about stakes, and stakes are defined by money. When Rory McIlroy won the FedExCup in 2019, that $15 million bonus was front-page news for a reason—it represented something unprecedented in golf.
“Perhaps the most notable transformation in prize purses came with the advent of the FedExCup Playoffs on the PGA Tour. Introduced in 2007, this playoff series revolutionized the financial landscape of professional golf.”
What strikes me most about the FedExCup’s evolution is how it’s fundamentally changed the way players approach an entire season. In my earlier days covering the tour, guys would occasionally coast in September, picking and choosing events based on course fit or personal preference. Now? Every event matters because the points race is a marathon with a $15 million finish line. That’s not cynicism talking—that’s genuine competitive intensity.
The Majors Go All-In
The major championships haven’t been sitting idle either. The 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club offered a stunning $20 million purse, with winner Wyndham Clark taking home $3.6 million. That’s the largest single-event payout in major championship history. For perspective, that’s more than Tiger Woods made when he won his first Masters in 1997.
“The 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, for example, boasted a total purse of $20 million, with Wyndham Clark taking home $3.6 million for his first-ever major win.”
Here’s what people don’t always understand: these increases aren’t arbitrary. They’re a direct response to competition. When LIV Golf announced it was offering $25 million purses with virtually guaranteed paydays, the traditional tours couldn’t ignore it. The PGA Tour and DP World Tour had to adapt or watch their best players defect.
LIV and the New Reality
I’ve covered enough golf to know that moral superiority doesn’t win in the marketplace. LIV Golf arrived with Saudi backing and eye-watering numbers—$25 million purses, with $20 million for individual competition and another $5 million for team results. Dustin Johnson earned over $35 million in 2022 alone. Love it or hate it, that’s not something you can wish away by being traditional.
What’s interesting from my vantage point is that LIV forced an honest conversation about what professional golf is worth. The traditionalists will tell you it’s about legacy and history. The accountants will tell you it’s about eyeballs on screens and sponsorship value. Both are right. But the money proved something: if you offer enough of it, the game’s best players will show up, and so will the audience.
The Players Championship Makes Its Statement
When The Players Championship—often called the “fifth major”—matched LIV’s $25 million purse in 2023 and paid Scottie Scheffler $4.5 million for first place, that was the PGA Tour saying: “We’re not going quietly.” It was a power move dressed up in prize money announcements.
“In 2023, The Players offered a record purse of $25 million, matching LIV’s events, and the winner, Scottie Scheffler, earned $4.5 million—the largest first-place check in PGA Tour history at that time.”
I’ll be honest: there’s a part of me that misses when golf was about something other than money. But there’s also a part of me—the realist—that recognizes this is what sports have become. And for younger players coming up, the financial security available now would’ve been unimaginable to my generation of tour pros.
The Breadth of the Prize Pool
What’s often overlooked in these headline-grabbing winner payouts is the depth of prize money distribution. A player finishing 20th in a modern LIV event or a FedExCup playoff can earn six figures with relative ease. In my early days covering the tour, that kind of money was reserved for tour winners. Now it’s for mid-pack finishers.
This matters because it’s created a broader base of financial stability in professional golf. The touring professionals aren’t struggling anymore. They’re building long-term careers with less financial anxiety. That’s a genuine positive development that doesn’t get enough attention.
What’s Next
The trend clearly shows no signs of stopping. With international sponsorship deals multiplying and media rights continuing to expand, both traditional tours and upstart leagues will keep chasing bigger numbers. The Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour, seasonal consistency payouts, event bonuses—it’s all getting richer.
Having covered 15 Masters and watched this sport evolve for decades, I think we’re settling into a new equilibrium. Golf’s financial future won’t be decided by nostalgia or tradition—it’ll be determined by who offers the most compelling product and the most compelling paydays. The sport’s proving it can handle both.
