Masters prize money hit a record in 2026: Augusta National put up a total purse of $22.5 million, and Rory McIlroy walked away with $4,500,000 for winning his second straight green jacket, according to ESPN and CBS Sports. That single check is the largest first-place payout in the tournament’s history.
- The 2026 Masters Prize Money Numbers
- How Masters Prize Money Actually Gets Split
- What Happens If You Miss the Cut
- Why Amateurs Get Zero Masters Prize Money
- The Prizes That Aren’t Masters Prize Money
- How Masters Prize Money Grew Over 90 Years
- Surprising Things About Masters Prize Money
- Frequently Asked Questions
The jump was real money, not a rounding error. ESPN reported the 2026 purse rose $1.5 million from the $21 million offered in 2025, which had itself gone up $1 million from 2024. Augusta National announces the figure on Saturday of tournament week, after the cut, rather than months in advance.
Here’s the part most casual fans miss: the winner’s share isn’t a negotiated number. Masters prize money follows a fixed percentage chart, and first place is set at 20 percent of whatever the total purse happens to be. Everything below flows from that same table.
The 2026 Masters Prize Money Numbers
McIlroy’s $4.5 million topped a leaderboard where the money dropped off fast. Per CBS Sports and Golf Digest, Scottie Scheffler took $2,430,000 as runner-up. The published chart lists $1,530,000 for third and $1,080,000 for fourth — though in 2026, a four-way tie for third meant Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Justin Rose and Cameron Young each collected $1,080,000 after the tied positions were pooled and split evenly.
Golf Digest reported the top 12 finishers each cleared at least $517,500. Below that, checks fall into the tens of thousands quickly.
| Year | Total purse | Winner’s share | Champion |
| 2026 | $22,500,000 | $4,500,000 | Rory McIlroy |
| 2025 | $21,000,000 | $4,200,000 | Rory McIlroy |
| 2024 | $20,000,000 | $3,600,000 | Scottie Scheffler |
| 2023 | $18,000,000 | $3,240,000 | Jon Rahm |
| 2022 | $15,000,000 | $2,700,000 | Scottie Scheffler |
| 2021 | $11,500,000 | $2,070,000 | Hideki Matsuyama |
| 1934 | $5,000 | $1,500 | Horton Smith |
Purse and winner’s-share figures above are from CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated and ESPN reporting for each year; the 1934 numbers come from Golf Digest’s history of the payout.
How Masters Prize Money Actually Gets Split
Augusta National uses a percentage distribution chart. ESPN noted the 2026 winner’s share of $4.5 million reflects a 20 percent allocation of the total purse. Second place lands near 12 percent, third near 6.8 percent, and the percentages shrink from there down through the field.
Because it’s percentage-based, every player’s check moves in lockstep when the purse rises. A $1.5 million bump doesn’t just help the champion — it lifts the 40th-place finisher too.
Ties are handled by pooling. If four players tie for third, the money assigned to third, fourth, fifth and sixth is added together and divided four ways. That’s why the 2026 T3 group each got $1,080,000 instead of the $1,530,000 the chart lists for a clean third-place finish.
What Happens If You Miss the Cut
The Masters cut takes the top 50 players and ties after 36 holes. Missing it doesn’t mean going home empty-handed. Golf Digest and CBS Sports reported that every professional who missed the 2026 cut received $25,000.
That’s a relatively recent courtesy. For most of the tournament’s history, missing the cut at Augusta paid nothing at all. The flat missed-cut payment is now standard across the majors and helps players who traveled and prepared for a week without playing the weekend.
One group gets nothing regardless of where they finish: amateurs. More on that below.
Why Amateurs Get Zero Masters Prize Money
Augusta National invites amateurs every year — U.S. Amateur champions, Latin America Amateur winners, and others. None of them can take a dime. Under the USGA’s Rules of Amateur Status, an amateur golfer cannot accept prize money for playing in a competition without forfeiting amateur status.
So an amateur who finishes 15th at the Masters watches roughly a quarter-million dollars go to the next eligible professional instead. What the low amateur does receive is the Silver Cup, awarded to the top-finishing amateur who makes the cut.
Invited amateurs also get to sleep in the Crow’s Nest, the dorm-style room in the Augusta National clubhouse attic above the champions’ locker room.
The Prizes That Aren’t Masters Prize Money
The green jacket may be worth more to a player’s career than the check. Winning brings a lifetime invitation to play the Masters, a spot in the Champions Dinner, and exemptions into the other majors.
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The jacket itself comes with strict conditions. The champion may take it home for one year. After that, it returns to Augusta National and lives in the Champions Locker Room, worn only on club grounds. Gary Player famously took his to South Africa in 1961 and didn’t bring it back the following year, saying he hadn’t known the rule.
Champions also receive a gold medal and a sterling silver replica of the Masters trophy.
How Masters Prize Money Grew Over 90 Years
Horton Smith won the first Masters in 1934 out of a $5,000 purse and took home $1,500, per Golf Digest. Adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI calculator, that’s worth roughly $37,000 in today’s dollars — real money in 1934, but less than a missed-cut check pays now.
McIlroy’s 2025 winner’s share of $4.2 million was more than 113 times Smith’s payout in raw dollars. The 2026 figure of $4.5 million pushes that gap wider.
Most of the growth is recent. The purse sat at $11.5 million as late as 2021, then nearly doubled inside five years as professional golf’s money race intensified.
Surprising Things About Masters Prize Money
A few details that catch people off guard, all verifiable from tournament reporting:
- Augusta National doesn’t announce the purse until Saturday of tournament week, after the cut. Players tee off Thursday not knowing exactly what they’re competing for.
- Masters prize money is the smallest of the four men’s majors in some years — the tournament has historically trailed the U.S. Open and PGA Championship on total purse before recent increases closed the gap.
- The club is privately held and doesn’t publish financial statements, so the purse is one of the few Augusta National dollar figures the public ever sees.
- A player who misses the cut still leaves with $25,000, more than the entire 1934 purse in nominal dollars.
The Masters prize money story is really a story about scale. A tournament that started as a friendly gathering of Bobby Jones’s golf acquaintances now hands one player more in an afternoon than the entire field competed for across its first three decades combined.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Masters prize money for the winner?
The 2026 winner’s share was $4,500,000 out of a $22.5 million total purse, per ESPN — a record for the tournament. Rory McIlroy earned it by winning back-to-back green jackets.
Do players who miss the cut get paid?
Yes. Golf Digest and CBS Sports reported that every professional who missed the 2026 Masters cut received $25,000. Amateurs receive nothing regardless of where they finish.
Why don’t amateurs receive Masters prize money?
USGA Rules of Amateur Status prohibit an amateur from accepting prize money in a competition. Taking the check would end their amateur status. The low amateur who makes the cut receives the Silver Cup instead.
Does the Masters winner keep the green jacket?
Only for one year. The champion may take it home for the twelve months of their reign, then must return it to Augusta National, where it stays in the Champions Locker Room and is worn only on club grounds.
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Content last reviewed August 2026. If you notice outdated information, please contact us.
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