The Masters Tournament: How much money does the winner take home?
Hideki Matsuyama, the most Masters champion, was awarded $2,070,000 after winning the tournament in 2021. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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(NEXSTAR) – The professional golfers who win the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club are rewarded with a slew of prizes and keepsakes, including a trophy, a gold medal and a sweet green jacket.
Oh, right. There’s also lots and lots of money.
The total purse for the 2022 Masters Tournament has yet to be announced, though it’s expected to exceed the $11.5 million awarded to players in recent years. A little over $2 million of that purse has gone straight to the winner since 2019.
After taking the green jacket in 2021, Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama won $2,070,000 in prize money, making him the third champion to earn that figure after Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson won the Masters in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The runner-up prizes aren’t too shabby either, with $1,242,000 going to the second-place finisher and $782,000 going to the third. The rest of the competitors receive smaller (although still relatively large) payouts depending on their scores. In recent years, $28,980 of the total purse has even been earmarked for the golfer who finishes 50th.
In the case of a tie, the golfers who finish with the same score receive the average of the cash sums for their ranking. For instance, if two golfers tie for second, they would split the total prize awarded for second and third place ($1,242,000 and $782,000, in 2021), which would have averaged out to $1,012,000 apiece.
Such large sums, meanwhile, might make past champions green with envy. The very first winner of Masters Tournament took home only $1,500 in 1934, and the top prize didn’t exceed 100,000 until 50 years later 1984, according to Golf Monthly. Even adjusted for inflation, neither of those prizes come anywhere close to the current winner’s share.
Then again, there’s more to the Masters than just the cash prizes. Did we mention the runner-up also gets a silver serving tray?
The 2022 Masters Tournament, taking place at Augusta National Golf Club in August, Georgia, runs from April 7 through April 10.