The 2024 Tour Championship may not be the biggest event on the calendar, but it does boast the largest prize fund in professional golf. With the FedEx Cup Playoffs collectively shelling out $100 million in bonuses, players will vie for their slice of the nearly $83 million prize pool with $25 million going to the eventual winner at East Lake Golf Club.
Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley each collected $3.6 million for their respective victories over the first two playoff events, but that is just a fraction of what will be hitting the FedEx Cup champion's bank account once the Tour Championship concludes. In fact, all competitors will clear at least a half million dollars for making it to the season's final playoff event with those inside the top 12 all cashing seven-figure paydays and those inside the top five clearing at least $5 million.
The $83 million pool represents an increase compared to last season when $75 million was up for grabs. Viktor Hovland claimed $18 million for his FedEx Cup crown. While that is $7 million less than what the eventual winner will collect this season, it was still more than the $15 million rewarded back in 2019 -- the first year of the staggered start format.
To contextualize the $25 million winner's purse, only one player on the PGA Tour season (Scottie Scheffler, shocker!) has surpassed that money total entering the Tour Championship. The seasons put together by Robert MacIntyre, Billy Horschel, Shane Lowry and Collin Morikawa would roughly add up to this figure.
Providing even further context, CBS Sports dissects just how much $25 million would mean to each participant in the Tour Championship. Looking at golfers' career on-course earnings -- excluding past FedEx Cup winnings, as those are considered bonuses -- the prize money becomes even more obscene.
Importance of winning the Tour Championship
Looking at what winning $25 million would meant to each golfer remaining in the FedEx Cup chase.
Golfer | Score | Career Earnings | % of Career Earnings |
---|---|---|---|
Scottie Scheffler | -10 | $71.8M | 35% |
Xander Schauffele | -8 | $57.2M | 44% |
Hideki Matsuyama | -7 | $55.4M | 45% |
Keegan Bradley | -6 | $47.4M | 53% |
Ludvig Åberg | -5 | $12.9M | 194% |
Rory McIlroy | -4 | $91.0M | 27% |
Collin Morikawa | -4 | $34.8M | 72% |
Wyndham Clark | -4 | $26.6M | 94% |
Sam Burns | -4 | $27.9M | 90% |
Patrick Cantlay | -4 | $48.3M | 52% |
Sungjae Im | -3 | $29.7M | 84% |
Sahith Theegala | -3 | $18.9M | 132% |
Shane Lowry | -3 | $23.2M | 108% |
Adam Scott | -3 | $68.0M | 37% |
Tony Finau | -3 | $43.1M | 58% |
Byeong Hun An | -2 | $18.9M | 132% |
Viktor Hovland | -2 | $31.3M | 80% |
Russell Henley | -2 | $32.0M | 78% |
Akshay Bhatia | -2 | $8.0M | 313% |
Robert MacIntyre | -2 | $7.9M | 316% |
Billy Horschel | -1 | $40.2M | 62% |
Tommy Fleetwood | -1 | $24.9M | 100% |
Sepp Straka | -1 | $17.8M | 140% |
Matthieu Pavon | -1 | $5.4M | 463% |
Taylor Pendrith | -1 | $9.1M | 275% |
Chris Kirk | E | $32.1M | 78% |
Tom Hoge | E | $20.8M | 120% |
Aaron Rai | E | $8.5M | 294% |
Christiaan Bezuidenhout | E | $10.1M | 248% |
Justin Thomas | E | $59.0M | 42% |
Scheffler has been on a tear the past few seasons, climbing inside the top five in career earnings following the FedEx St. Jude Championship to now trail only Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, McIlroy and Dustin Johnson. McIlroy and Scheffler are not the only two players to rank highly on that list, though, as Justin Thomas, Schauffele and Matsuyama all stand inside the top 15 as well.
A $25 million check wouldn't be a drop in their buckets, but it is safe to say others may feel it a little more. In fact, nearly half the field would double their career earnings with a victory. Tommy Fleetwood and Lowry are among this group of 13 players and would almost exactly double their totals.
Matthieu Pavon, a DP World Tour journeyman turned PGA Tour rookie, would make the biggest splash by quintupling his earnings. Similar increases could be achieved for players like MacIntyre, 22-year-old Akshay Bhatia, Aaron Rai, Taylor Pendrith and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Perhaps the most bizarre outcome would be if Ludvig Åberg won the FedEx Cup but didn't tally the low 72-hole score (without the starting strokes). Winless this year, the young Swede could be crowned the season-long champion without technically ever finishing first in a tournament.