Money, money and more money.
Prize money on the PGA Tour in 2023 is going to reach unprecedented levels, with 13 events now designated as “elevated”.
This will guarantee the game’s biggest stars will gather more often to compete at events with purses worth $20 million (or more).
Almost all of the elevated events will surpass the majors, not in significance or course, but on the pay scale.
The Players Championship and the Tour Championship will still flaunt the gaudiest paydays, but many of the traditional events will have a brighter spotlight on them in 2023.
Check out the breakdown of the money at each event from Kapalua to East Lake.
Tiger Woods putts on the 16th hole during the final round of the 2022 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Adam Cairns-Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY Sports)
The majors are of course the most prestigious events but that doesn’t make them the richest. These numbers represent the purses from 2022; the 2023 numbers will be revealed the week of the event.
| Major | Money |
| Masters Tournament | 15,000,000 |
| PGA Championship | 15,000,000 |
| U.S. Open | 17,500,000 |
| Open Championship | 14,000,000 |
The 2022 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. (Photo: Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
The Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta caps the season, and it has the distinction of having the biggest pile of cash on the line. However, the money earned there is “bonus” money and doesn’t count towards a golfer’s official money standings. But it spends just the same.
The FedEx St. Jude and the BMW are now elevated events featuring $20 million in total prize money.
| FedEx Cup Playoff events | Money |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | $20,000,000 |
| BMW Championship | $20,000,000 |
| Tour Championship | $75,000,000* |
Golf fans cheer on the 16th hole during Round 2 of the 2022 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Cheryl Evans/The Arizona Republic)
There will be eight events in 2023 with a $20 million purse, with the WM Phoenix Open the first one on deck. The first event of the calendar year is the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and that will have a purse of $15 million. The Players, already a marquee stop, has the richest pot of all the official money events.
| Elevated events | Money |
| The Players Championship | $25,000,000 |
| WM Phoenix Open | $20,000,000 |
| The Genesis Invitational | $20,000,000 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | $20,000,000 |
| RBC Heritage | $20,000,000 |
| Wells Fargo Championship | $20,000,000 |
| Memorial Tournament | $20,000,000 |
| Travelers Championship | $20,000,000 |
| World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play | $20,000,000 |
| Sentry Tournament of Champions | $15,000,000 |
Patrons watch PGA Tour action on the 16th hole at TPC Craig Ranch while playing blackjack in the Choctaw Club. (Photo: Tim Schmitt/Golfweek)
The “regular” stops on the PGA Tour slate still have some pretty serious cash on the line, with four of them at $9 million or more.
| PGA Tour events | Money |
| AT&T Byron Nelson | $9,500,000 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | $9,000,000 |
| RBC Canadian Open | $9,000,000 |
| Genesis Scottish Open | $9,000,000 |
| Valero Texas Open | $8,900,000 |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | $8,800,000 |
| Farmers Insurance Open | $8,700,000 |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | $8,700,000 |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | $8,600,000 |
| The Honda Classic | $8,400,000 |
| Valspar Championship | $8,100,000 |
| The American Express | $8,000,000 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | $7,900,000 |
| 3M Championship | $7,800,000 |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | $7,700,000 |
| Wyndham Championship | $7,600,000 |
| John Deere Classic | $7,400,000 |
The third green is seen during the first round of the Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Golf Course on August 05, 2021 in Truckee, California. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
There are four events that are played opposite a major or an elevated event but there’s still good money on the line. More importantly, success at one of these opens doors for access to tournaments higher up the pecking order.
| Opposite-field events | Money |
| Puerto Rico Open | $3,800,000 |
| Corales Puntacana Championship | $3,800,000 |
| Barbasol Championship | $3,800,000 |
| Barracuda Championship | $3,800,000 |
To sum it up, the 38 PGA Tour stops being held in 2023 will have total prize money approaching $460,000,000.
By comparison, the 47 events on the entire 2021-22 schedule totaled $421,800,000.
