The Tour Championship has achieved the biggest innovation in professional golf. Most importantly, it has created a $40 million bonus pool that for the first time ever counts as official money! This huge purse is a $1 million jump over past years. It makes the outcome so much more personal for golfers competing at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Under the new system, the PGA Tour Champ will leave with a staggering $10 million in their pocket. In fact, the second place finisher will be taking home a nice $5 million in official earnings, too! Even the $3,705,000 that the third place finisher will go home with is downright dandy. Even the last place finisher will take home a very healthy check for $355,000. This allocation of prize money further exemplifies the Tour Championship’s dedication to recognizing and rewarding excellence as well as competitiveness among the best players in the world.
At the top of the money list this season is Scottie Scheffler, with $20,362,883. TIGER WOODS The $10 million bonus awarded for winning the regular FedEx Cup standings. On top of that, he will take home an additional $5 million for being the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Rory McIlroy a very distant second with $16,156,418 in official money earned, and J.J. Spaun has earned $12,302,222.
East Lake is bringing back an official purse, after a four-year absence. Going all the way back in 2018, that payout was only $9 million. Most especially, Tiger Woods was the recipient of a whopping $1.62 million at that time! The reaction from players to the new purse structure has been overwhelmingly positive. Patrick Cantlay is one of those in favor of getting rid of starting strokes.
Justin Rose rose to prominence earlier this season, taking home the FedEx Cup. He did so without winning a postseason race, a surprisingly dominant accomplishment that won him the most-coveted $10 million bonus. All this excitement over these new financial incentives might be enough to raise the prestige of the Tour Championship even higher.
“I think at this point if you played a whole year and get into the Tour Championship with the guys who have played – the 30 best guys who have played the best all year – and you beat them that week with everything on the line, that’s a huge accomplishment.” – Associated Press
The Tour Championship boasts a dramatically enhanced financial structure that includes big increases to player payouts. Adding to that is the subsequent level of competition, which makes this one of the most lucrative events in golf history.
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