The Masters prize money is one of the most searched topics in golf every April. Fans want to know how much the winner earns, how the purse is split, whether players who miss the cut get paid, and why the Green Jacket still feels bigger than the cheque.
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The 2026 Masters purse rose to £16.59 million ($22.5 million), with Rory McIlroy earning about £3.32 million ($4.5 million) as champion, according to CBS Sports’ Masters payout breakdown.
Currency conversions in this guide use an approximate mid-market rate of $1 = £0.7375 as of May 2026.
What is The Masters prize money?
The Masters prize money is the total fund paid to professional players after the tournament. It is also called the purse. The winner gets the largest share, and the rest of the money is split among the field based on final position.
The key point is simple. The Masters pays money, but it is not only about money.
The champion receives a huge winner’s cheque. Yet the Green Jacket, a lifetime place in Masters history, and future invitations often matter even more. Winning at Augusta changes a player’s career. It can lift their brand, improve sponsorship power, and place them in golf’s most famous club.
That is why Masters prize money always sits in a strange place. It is massive, but it still feels secondary to the honour.
How much did the 2026 Masters winner earn?
Rory McIlroy earned about £3.32 million ($4.5 million) for winning the 2026 Masters.
That was the largest winner’s prize in Masters history. It also came from a record total purse of about £16.59 million ($22.5 million).
Here is the quick answer for readers who only want the main numbers:
| Masters prize money item | Approx. pounds | US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Total 2026 Masters purse | £16.59m | $22.5m |
| Winner’s prize | £3.32m | $4.5m |
| Runner-up prize | £1.79m | $2.43m |
| Third-place listed payout | £1.13m | $1.53m |
| Fourth-place listed payout | £796,500 | $1.08m |
| Fifth-place listed payout | £663,750 | $900,000 |
The final payout can change when players tie for a position. In that case, the prize money for those tied places is usually pooled and shared between the tied players.
The Masters prize money breakdown
The Masters does not pay only the winner. Every professional who makes the cut earns a finishing-position payout. Professionals who miss the cut also receive money.
That makes Augusta different from many events in the way fans often think about prize money. The public focus is on first place, but the full payout list matters to the whole field.
Here is a useful top-12 guide from the 2026 Masters payout list:
| Position | Approx. pounds | US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | £3,318,750 | $4,500,000 |
| 2nd | £1,792,125 | $2,430,000 |
| 3rd | £1,128,375 | $1,530,000 |
| 4th | £796,500 | $1,080,000 |
| 5th | £663,750 | $900,000 |
| 6th | £597,375 | $810,000 |
| 7th | £555,891 | $753,750 |
| 8th | £514,406 | $697,500 |
| 9th | £481,219 | $652,500 |
| 10th | £448,031 | $607,500 |
| 11th | £414,844 | $562,500 |
| 12th | £381,656 | $517,500 |
These numbers show why every shot matters on Sunday. A late birdie can move a player several places up the leaderboard. A late bogey can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Still, players rarely speak about that in the moment. At The Masters, the trophy, the jacket and the place in history carry the emotional weight.
Why does The Masters’ prize money keep rising?
Masters prize money has grown because elite golf has changed.
Modern golf now has bigger TV deals, bigger sponsor value, and more global attention. The sport also sits in a more competitive money market than it did in the past. LIV Golf, PGA Tour Signature Events, The Players Championship, and the other majors have all increased prize funds.
The Masters does not chase noise in the same way as some events. Augusta National moves at its own pace. Yet the club still keeps the tournament near the top of golf’s prize-money table.
That matters for status. The Masters is already the most famous annual golf tournament in the world. A huge purse helps keep it financially aligned with the rest of the modern game.
But The Masters has something most events cannot buy. It has Augusta National. It has the Green Jacket. It has Amen Corner. It has decades of champions walking the same fairways. That is why the cheque is huge, but never the whole story.
Do players who miss the cut get paid at The Masters?
Yes, professional players who miss the cut at The Masters still get paid.
This surprises some fans. In many sports, prize money only becomes a major talking point for players near the top. At Augusta, professionals who do not reach the weekend still receive a payment.
The exact amount can change by year, but the principle is clear. Professionals who qualify for The Masters and compete in the event are rewarded, even if they miss the 36-hole cut.
That payment is not close to the winner’s prize. However, it still matters. Getting into The Masters is hard. The field is small, elite, and full of players who have earned their place through wins, rankings, major results or special qualification routes.
Do amateurs get Masters prize money?
No. Amateur players do not take the Masters prize money.
That is an important rule. The Masters often includes top amateurs, and the best amateur can become one of the best stories of the week. However, amateurs are not playing for the same professional prize cheque.
If an amateur finishes high on the leaderboard, the prize money linked to that finishing place is not paid to them in the same way. The professional payout structure adjusts around that.
For amateurs, the reward is different. They get the experience of playing Augusta National, testing themselves against the best players in the world, and building a name on a global stage.
For many, that exposure can shape their future career.
How are ties paid at The Masters?
Ties are handled by sharing the money from the tied positions.
For example, if four players tie for third, they do not all receive the full third-place cheque. Instead, the prize money for third, fourth, fifth, and sixth is usually combined and split equally among those players.
This is why payout lists sometimes look different from the simple position table.
A leaderboard may show several players tied for one place, while the money each player receives is calculated as the average of the positions covered by that tie. It keeps the payout fair and stops a tie from creating extra money outside the set purse.
This is also why the final Masters payout can look slightly confusing at first glance. The listed position value gives a guide, but tied players receive adjusted shares.
Is The Masters the richest golf major?
The Masters is one of the richest tournaments in golf. It has also become one of the biggest-paying majors.
However, “richest” can vary by year. The U.S. Open, PGA Championship and The Open can adjust their prize funds. The Players Championship is not a major, but it often has one of the largest purses in the sport.
That said, The Masters does not need to be the single richest event to feel like the biggest. Its value is built on history and scarcity.
Only one course hosts it every year. Only one winner receives the Green Jacket each April. Only a select field gets invited. That makes the tournament feel different from the rest of the golf calendar.
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What does the Masters winner receive besides money?
The Masters winner receives far more than a cheque.
The prize money is only one part of the reward. The champion also receives the Green Jacket, the Masters Trophy, a place in golf history, and major career benefits.
The biggest benefits include:
- A lifetime invitation to play The Masters
- A five-year exemption from the other majors
- A major boost in world ranking status
- Huge commercial and sponsorship value
- A permanent place among Augusta champions
That last point matters most.
Many tournaments pay large sums. Only The Masters gives the winner a Green Jacket and a place at the Champions Dinner. That tradition gives Augusta a pull that prize money alone cannot match.
Why the Green Jacket still matters more than the cheque
Golfers want to be paid well. That is obvious. But no elite golfer grows up dreaming only of a cheque.
The tradition is also part of what makes Augusta unique, with the official Masters site presenting the tournament as far more than a standard tour event.
They dream of winning majors. They dream of walking up the 18th at Augusta with the tournament in their hands. They dream of slipping on the Green Jacket inside Butler Cabin.
That is why The Masters still stands apart.
The prize money reflects the modern sports market. The Green Jacket reflects something older. It speaks to legacy. It links each champion to names such as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, and many more.
Money can be counted. Legacy is harder to measure.
That is the real power of The Masters.
How the Masters purse compares with regular PGA Tour events
A regular PGA Tour event can pay very well, but The Masters operates on another level.
The biggest PGA Tour events now have huge prize funds. Signature Events have increased the money at the top of the game. The Players Championship also carries a huge purse.
Even so, The Masters has a rare mix of money, history and global audience.
A player who wins a normal tour event earns status. A player who wins The Masters becomes part of a story that fans retell every year. That is why the tournament’s money feels important, but never too loud.
Does prize money affect how players approach the final round?
At the top of the leaderboard, probably not in a simple way.
A player standing on the 16th tee at Augusta is not thinking like a spreadsheet. They are thinking about wind, club choice, nerve, history and the scoreboard.
However, prize money can still matter lower down the leaderboard. Players outside the main title race can move up several payout places with a strong finish. That can mean a major difference in earnings.
There is also another factor. A top finish at The Masters can secure future starts, improve ranking points and change a season. So the final round matters for more than money.
A player may not win, but a top-12 or top-10 finish at Augusta can still be a career-building result.
Why fans care so much about Masters prize money
Fans search for the Masters prize money because it gives scale to the event.
The money helps people understand how big The Masters has become. It also adds context to every shot. When a putt on the final green changes a player’s finish by two or three places, the financial swing can be huge.
But fans also care because The Masters is a rare sports event where money does not dominate the story.
In football, boxing, Formula 1 and tennis, finance often sits at the centre of the conversation. At Augusta, the money is huge, but the tone is different. Tradition still leads.
That balance makes the Masters prize money guide interesting. The figures are massive. Yet the tournament’s greatest reward is still something you cannot cash.
Final word: The Masters prize money is huge, but history is longer
The Masters now pays one of the biggest purses in golf. The 2026 total purse reached about £16.59 million ($22.5 million), and the champion’s prize stood at around £3.32 million ($4.5 million).
Those numbers are huge. They show where elite golf now sits in the global sports economy.
But The Masters has never been only about money.
The winner earns a life-changing cheque. More importantly, they earn the Green Jacket, a permanent place at Augusta, and a line in golf history that never fades.
That is why the Masters prize money matters. It tells us how big the event is.
But the Green Jacket tells us why it still feels special.
The Masters pays one of golf’s biggest purses, but the Green Jacket remains the prize every golfer wants most.