2025 Players Championship prize money: Full payout as McIlroy wins Sawgrass playoff
Last updated:
Here’s how the 2025 Players Championship prize money was dished out at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
Rory McIlroy produced an accomplished display in Monday’s three-hole playoff to end the hopes of JJ Spaun and secure the $4.5 million winner’s cheque.
McIlroy and Spaun both finished on 12-under-par on a weather-delayed final day at TPC Sawgrass and returned on Monday to decide who would take home the biggest single tournament winner’s check in golf.
Today’s mammoth $25m purse is $24.75m more than was on offer at the event’s first playing in 1974 when Jack Nicklaus won the title and $50,000 in prize money. The purse reached the $1m mark in 1987, when Sandy Lyle was the victor and received $180,000, and reached $10m in 2014 when Martin Kaymer was paid $1.8m.
The Players prize fund has doubled since Rory McIlroy’s maiden win in 2019 when he received $2.25m, and has jumped another $10m since 2021 when Justin Thomas won and increased his bank balance by $2.7m. At $25m, The Players Championship purse is bigger than the prize fund at the US Open, which has the biggest payout of the four men’s Majors at $20m.
The top five finishers this year took home a minimum of $1m with Xander Schauffele still pocketing a healthy $50,250 for his 72nd-place finish. Here’s how the rest of the prize money was split at the 51st Players Championship…
2025 Players Championship prize money payout
| Position | Player | Earnings |
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | $4,500,000 |
| 2 | JJ Spaun | $2,725,000 |
| T3 | Akshay Bhatia Lucas Glover Tom Hoge | $1,325,000 |
| T6 | Danny Walker Corey Conners Bud Cauley | $843,750 |
| 9 | Robert MacIntyre | $731,250 |
| T10 | Collin Morikawa Davis Thompson | $656,250 |
| T12 | Jake Knapp Patrick Cantlay | $556,250 |
| T14 | Aaron Rai Tommy Fleetwood Denny McCarthy Sam Ryder Sepp Straka Alex Smalley | $418,750 |
| T20 | Keegan Bradley Ryan Fox Joe Highsmith Matt McCarty Daniel Berger Shane Lowry Scottie Scheffler Min Woo Lee Max McGreevy Stephan Jaeger | $240,250 |
| T30 | Harris English Will Zalatoris Russell Henley | $163,750 |
| T33 | Justin Thomas Taylor Moore JT Poston Rico Hoey Kurt Kitayama | $136,250 |
| T38 | Davis Riley Justin Lower Si Woo Kim | $113,750 |
| T42 | Jesper Svensson Mac Meissner Matt Kuchar Billy Horschel Tom Kim Hayden Springer Chris Kirk Ryan Gerard | $81,687.50 |
| T50 | Jacob Bridgeman Beau Hossler | $63,500 |
| T52 | Sahith Theegala Byeong Hun An | $60,750 |
| T54 | Joel Dahmen Camilo Villegas Mathieu Pavon Carson Young Charley Hoffman | $58,250 |
| 59 | Jordan Spieth | $56,750 |
| 60 | Jhonattan Vegas | $56,250 |
| T61 | Austin Eckroat Will Chandler Chandler Phillips Sungjae Im Trey Mullinax Cameron Young | $54,500 |
| 67 | Emiliano Grillo | $52,750 |
| 68 | Isaiah Salinda | $52,250 |
| T69 | CT Pan Sami Valimaki | $51,500 |
| 71 | Rickie Fowler | $50,750 |
| 72 | Xander Schauffele | $50,250 |
Players Championship prize fund history
Here’s how the purse and winner’s share has evolved throughout The Players Championship’s history.
| Year | Winner | Total Purse ($) | Winner’s Share ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Scottie Scheffler (2) | 25,000,000 | 4,500,000 |
| 2023 | Scottie Scheffler | 25,000,000 | 4,500,000 |
| 2022 | Cameron Smith | 20,000,000 | 3,600,000 |
| 2021 | Justin Thomas | 15,000,000 | 2,700,000 |
| 2020 | Canceled after R1 | 15,000,000 | — |
| 2019 | Rory McIlroy | 12,500,000 | 2,250,000 |
| 2018 | Webb Simpson | 11,000,000 | 1,980,000 |
| 2017 | Kim Si-woo | 10,500,000 | 1,890,000 |
| 2016 | Jason Day | 10,500,000 | 1,890,000 |
| 2015 | Rickie Fowler | 10,000,000 | 1,800,000 |
| 2014 | Martin Kaymer | 10,000,000 | 1,800,000 |
| 2013 | Tiger Woods (2) | 9,500,000 | 1,710,000 |
| 2012 | Matt Kuchar | 9,500,000 | 1,710,000 |
| 2011 | K. J. Choi | 9,500,000 | 1,710,000 |
| 2010 | Tim Clark | 9,500,000 | 1,710,000 |
| 2009 | Henrik Stenson | 9,500,000 | 1,710,000 |
| 2008 | Sergio García | 9,500,000 | 1,710,000 |
| 2007 | Phil Mickelson | 9,000,000 | 1,620,000 |
| 2006 | Stephen Ames | 8,000,000 | 1,440,000 |
| 2005 | Fred Funk | 8,000,000 | 1,440,000 |
| 2004 | Adam Scott | 8,000,000 | 1,440,000 |
| 2003 | Davis Love III (2) | 6,500,000 | 1,170,000 |
| 2002 | Craig Perks | 6,000,000 | 1,080,000 |
| 2001 | Tiger Woods | 6,000,000 | 1,080,000 |
| 2000 | Hal Sutton (2) | 5,000,000 | 900,000 |
| 1999 | David Duval | 5,000,000 | 900,000 |
| 1998 | Justin Leonard | 4,000,000 | 720,000 |
| 1997 | Steve Elkington (2) | 3,500,000 | 630,000 |
| 1996 | Fred Couples (2) | 3,500,000 | 630,000 |
| 1995 | Lee Janzen | 3,000,000 | 540,000 |
| 1994 | Greg Norman | 2,500,000 | 450,000 |
| 1993 | Nick Price | 2,500,000 | 450,000 |
| 1992 | Davis Love III | 1,800,000 | 324,000 |
| 1991 | Steve Elkington | 1,600,000 | 288,000 |
| 1990 | Jodie Mudd | 1,500,000 | 270,000 |
| 1989 | Tom Kite | 1,350,000 | 243,000 |
| 1988 | Mark McCumber | 1,250,000 | 225,000 |
| 1987 | Sandy Lyle | 1,000,000 | 180,000 |
| 1986 | John Mahaffey | 900,000 | 162,000 |
| 1985 | Calvin Peete | 900,000 | 162,000 |
| 1984 | Fred Couples | 800,000 | 144,000 |
| 1983 | Hal Sutton | 700,000 | 126,000 |
| 1982 | Jerry Pate | 500,000 | 90,000 |
| 1981 | Raymond Floyd | 440,000 | 72,000 |
| 1980 | Lee Trevino | 440,000 | 72,000 |
| 1979 | Lanny Wadkins | 440,000 | 72,000 |
| 1978 | Jack Nicklaus (3) | 300,000 | 60,000 |
| 1977 | Mark Hayes | 300,000 | 60,000 |
| 1976 | Jack Nicklaus (2) | 300,000 | 60,000 |
| 1975 | Al Geiberger | 250,000 | 50,000 |
| 1974 | Jack Nicklaus | 250,000 | 50,000 |
-
2025 Players Championship prize money breakdown on the PGA Tour.
