Golf
How Much Money Do Golfers Get for Winning the 2021 Masters?
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterPublished11 Apr 2021
As you’ll hear countless times during the broadcast, the Masters is a tradition unlike any other. All of the pomp and pageantry, however, doesn’t change one fundamental reality: the tournament is still a major part of the PGA tour campaign, and every golfer on the course wants to claim the top spot.
Winning the Masters, however, gets you more than a green jacket and plenty of FedEx Cup points. As you might assume, there’s also a sizable cash prize, which changes from year to year. So how much money do you get for winning the 2021 Masters?
Winning the Masters is a pretty big deal, independent of the prize money
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Professional athletes are nothing if not competitive; you reach the top of your game without wanting to win every time you hit the court, field, or course. For professional golfers, though, the Masters is more than just a tournament.
For better or worse, the Masters has branded itself as a special tournament where tradition and decorum rule the day. Caddies, for example, don white jumpsuits before working the course; fans are called “patrons,” and they’re not allowed to run, wear backward hats, or remove their shoes on the course. Even broadcasters have to play by the rules, using “bunkers” instead of “sand traps” and “second cut” instead of “rough.”
There are also plenty of traditions related to winning the tournament. When a golfer wins the Masters, he gets an iconic green jacket which, of course, is governed by its own set of rules. The winner will also receive a lifetime exemption, meaning he keeps playing in the tournament without needing to qualify and gets to set the menu at the following year’s Champions Dinner.
The 2021 Masters prize money clocks in just over $2 million
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While all of those perks are nice, you can’t exactly pay your bills with a green jacket and prestige. Those on the PGA Tour don’t have to worry, though. The Masters also pays out plenty of prize money each year.
“The Masters Tournament is the first major of the year and the purse for this year’s event remains unchanged for the third straight year at $11,500,000,” Augusta.com explained. “Along with a green jacket, gold coin, and replica winner’s trophy, this year’s champion will take home a payout of $2,070,000.”
The winner isn’t the only one leaving the Masters with some prize money, though. Unless you’re an amateur, everyone is taking home at least a bit of cash.
Those professionals who failed to make the cut in 2021 will leave Augusta with $10,000. From there, the money increases with each step up the leaderboard; the 50th place golfer, for example, will make $28,980 while 10th place earns $310,500.
Those Masters winnings would be a nice boost to just about anyone’s bottom line
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In the grand scheme of professional sports salaries, just over $2 million for four days worth of work seems like a pretty raw deal. For the guys who are currently at the top of the Masters’ leaderboard, though, that’s still a nice chunk of change.
Heading into Sunday, Hideki Matsuyama sits at the top of the leaderboard; Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele, Marc Leishman, and Justin Rose are all tied for second place, trailing by a single stroke.
Although Rose sits in eight on the PGA Tour’s all-time money list—he’s made almost $55 million in total, according to ESPN—the other golfers sit further down the power rankings. Matsuyama and Leishman have both earned roughly $31 million; Schauffele has only taken home about $21 million during his time on the tour.
The win, however, would provide the biggest financial boost to Zalatoris. As explained by Golfweek, the 24-year-old is yet to win an event on the PGA Tour. He has won $403,978 in 16 events on the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour, though.
No matter who claims the top spot at the 2021 Masters, they’ll never forget the moment when they donned the green jacket. Pocketing $2 million in prize money won’t be a bad experience, either.
