The Players 2024: How much champion Scheffler and the field won from Sawgrass’ record prize fund
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There was a record $25m purse up for grabs at the 50th Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, but how much money did Scottie Scheffler win for his successful title defense and how was the prize fund split?
The eye-watering sums of money on offer in men’s professional golf remains one of the sport’s biggest talking points in 2024 and the PGA Tour’s flagship event – The Players – sees the biggest purse of the season as the world’s best players roll into Ponte Vedra Beach.
It is the only PGA Tour event that can match the enormous purses up for grabs at LIV Golf events, with £25m shared between the top 65 players (and ties) who make the weekend at TPC Sawgrass. And it’s the only event where the winner takes home more than the winner at LIV events with the man who lifts the trophy also pocketing $4.5m – $500,000 more than the Saudi-backed league pays out.
It’s the second successive year that such a huge sum has been up for grabs at Sawgrass with World No.1 Scottie Scheffler enjoying a massive boost to his bank balance having won in 2023 and then becoming the first man to successfully defend the title in 2024 after his Sunday 64 saw him pip Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, and Brian Harman by one shot at 20-under par.
The $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 money has doubled in just five years with $12.5m up for grabs in 2019 when Rory McIlroy won and received $2.25m. And it’s 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.
Unfortunately for the 38 players who’ve made a hole-in-one at Sawgrass there’s no bonus, but their aces have secured a place in the tournament’s hall of fame and a big jump up the leaderboards.
How The Players purse and winner’s share have changed down the years
| Year | Total Purse | Winner | Winner’s Share |
| 1974 | $250,000 | Jack Nicklaus | $50,000 |
| 1982 | $500,000 | Jerry Pate | $90,000 |
| 1987 | $1,000,000 | Sandy Lyle | $180,000 |
| 1993 | $2,500,000 | Nick Price | $450,000 |
| 2000 | $6,000,000 | Hal Sutton | $1,080,000 |
| 2007 | $9,000,000 | Phil Mickelson | $1,620,000 |
| 2014 | $10,000,000 | Martin Kaymer | $1,800,000 |
| 2018 | $11,000,000 | Webb Simpson | $1,890,000 |
| 2019 | $12,500,000 | Rory McIlroy | $2,250,000 |
| 2021 | $15,000,000 | Justin Thomas | $2,700,000 |
| 2022 | $20,000,000 | Cameron Smith | $3,600,000 |
| 2023 | $25,000,000 | Scottie Scheffler | $4,500,000 |
The Players 2024 prize money
Here’s how much every player who made the cut received from the record prize fund at the 50th Players Championship.
| Position | Player | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler | -20 | $4,500,000 |
| T2 | Brian Harman | -19 | $1,981,667 |
| T2 | Wyndham Clark | -19 | $1,981,667 |
| T2 | Xander Schauffele | -19 | $1,981,667 |
| 5 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -16 | $1,025,000 |
| T6 | Si Woo Kim | -15 | $875,000 |
| T6 | Hideki Matsuyama | -15 | $875,000 |
| 8 | Ludvig Aberg | -14 | $781,250 |
| T9 | Sahith Theegala | -13 | $706,250 |
| T9 | Maverick McNealy | -13 | $706,250 |
| T11 | Joel Dahmen | -12 | $606,250 |
| T11 | Taylor Montgomery | -12 | $606,250 |
| T13 | Corey Conners | -11 | $489,583 |
| T13 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | -11 | $489,583 |
| T13 | Nate Lashley | -11 | $489,583 |
| T16 | Sam Ryder | -10 | $406,250 |
| T16 | Sepp Straka | -10 | $406,250 |
| T16 | Doug Ghim | -10 | $406,250 |
| T19 | Shane Lowry | -9 | $285,536 |
| T19 | Harris English | -9 | $285,536 |
| T19 | Dylan Wu | -9 | $285,536 |
| T19 | Kurt Kitayama | -9 | $285,536 |
| T19 | Alex Noren | -9 | $285,536 |
| T19 | Adam Schenk | -9 | $285,536 |
| T19 | Rory McIlroy | -9 | $285,536 |
| T26 | Mackenzie Hughes | -8 | $186,250 |
| T26 | Chris Kirk | -8 | $186,250 |
| T26 | Nick Taylor | -8 | $186,250 |
| T26 | Matt NeSmith | -8 | $186,250 |
| T26 | Matti Schmid | -8 | $186,250 |
| T31 | Ben Martin | -7 | $152,812 |
| T31 | Mark Hubbard | -7 | $152,812 |
| T31 | Sungjae Im | -7 | $152,812 |
| T31 | Taylor Moore | -7 | $152,812 |
| T35 | Denny McCarthy | -6 | $119,286 |
| T35 | Jimmy Stanger | -6 | $119,286 |
| T35 | Aaron Rai | -6 | $119,286 |
| T35 | Tommy Fleetwood | -6 | $119,286 |
| T35 | Lee Hodges | -6 | $119,286 |
| T35 | Brice Garnett | -6 | $119,286 |
| T35 | Jason Day | -6 | $119,286 |
| T42 | Grayson Murray | -5 | $93,750 |
| T42 | David Lipsky | -5 | $93,750 |
| T42 | C.T. Pan | -5 | $93,750 |
| T45 | Adam Scott | -4 | $70,062 |
| T45 | Ryan Moore | -4 | $70,062 |
| T45 | Jake Knapp | -4 | $70,062 |
| T45 | Tony Finau | -4 | $70,062 |
| T45 | Collin Morikawa | -4 | $70,062 |
| T45 | Sam Burns | -4 | $70,062 |
| T45 | Austin Eckroat | -4 | $70,062 |
| T45 | J.T. Poston | -4 | $70,062 |
| 53 | Andrew Putnam | -3 | $60,250 |
| T54 | Min Woo Lee | -2 | $57,500 |
| T54 | Francesco Molinari | -2 | $57,500 |
| T54 | Zac Blair | -2 | $57,500 |
| T54 | Martin Laird | -2 | $57,500 |
| T54 | Sami Valimaki | -2 | $57,500 |
| T54 | Cameron Young | -2 | $57,500 |
| T54 | Tom Hoge | -2 | $57,500 |
| T54 | Emiliano Grillo | -2 | $57,500 |
| T62 | Thomas Detry | -1 | $55,000 |
| T62 | Viktor Hovland | -1 | $55,000 |
| T64 | Seamus Power | E | $53,500 |
| T64 | Max Homa | E | $53,500 |
| T64 | Tyler Duncan | E | $53,500 |
| T64 | J.J. Spaun | E | $53,500 |
| T68 | Rickie Fowler | 2 | $51,500 |
| T68 | Patrick Cantlay | 2 | $51,500 |
| T68 | Chan Kim | 2 | $51,500 |
| T68 | Peter Malnati | 2 | $51,500 |
| 72 | Gary Woodland | 3 | $50,250 |
| 73 | Keith Mitchell | 4 | $49,750 |
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Rob specializes in the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the Ryder Cup, spending large chunks of his days reading about, writing about, and watching the tours each month.
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Scottie Scheffler made history as the first golfer to successfully defend The Players and took home a huge winner's cheque in the process.
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The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass has the biggest prize fund on the PGA Tour.
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Scottie Scheffler took home the PGA Tour's biggest winner's pay cheque for a second successive season at The Players Championship.
