The Players Championship already was tied for having the biggest purse on the PGA Tour. However, for 2020, the PGA Tour is upping the ante even further for their crown jewel event.
The PGA Tour has increased The Players Championship 2020 purse to $15 million, an increase of $2.5 million from even a year ago, when the tournament moved back to March after a dozen years in May.
The Players Championship winner will receive $2.7 million in 2020, an increase of $450,000 over what Rory McIlroy took home in winning the unofficial fifth major. The Associated Press reported on the increase, announced by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan at a meeting of the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council (PAC) ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open.
While the PGA Tour has worked in recent years to de-emphasize the money available to players through The Players and the FedEx Cup, it's hard for the players themselves to ignore such staggering sums. It also gives the PGA Tour a leg up when comparing The Players to the four major championships.
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After the Tour announced The Players purse increase to $12.5 million last year, the USGA countered in kind to raise the US Open purse to $12.5 million. The three other majors -- the Masters, the British Open Championship and PGA Championship -- have lagged behind. In 2019, the Masters purse was $11.5 million, with the PGA Championship at $11 million and the British Open Championship at $10.75 million.
It's unclear if the organizations behind the majors will respond in kind, further boosting prize money. However, with the PGA of America entering the first year of a new, lucrative television deal with CBS and ESPN, it's reasonable to expect the PGA Championship 2020 purse to increase, too.
The 2020 Players Championship will be played March 12-15 at the home of the PGA Tour, The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.