PGA Tour players will be playing for dramatically higher purses on the 2021-2022 PGA Tour schedule, marking the first wave of prize-money increases coming largely as a result of a new television rights deal.
In a memo to players, shared by Golfweek and No Laying Up, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan detailed the highlights of the $427 million in direct prize money for the season and the $838 million in total compensation available to players.
Among tournaments, the increases are dramatic, increasing the average purse size to $9.1 million, up from $8 million. The biggest increases are:
- The Players Championship purse increases from $15 million to $20 million, as previously disclosed
- The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament purses increase from $9.3 million to $12 million each
- The World Golf Championships event -- the Dell Technologies Match Play, after the HSBC Champions was canceled -- will have a purse of $12 million as well
- The FedEx St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship, the first two playoff events, will increase their purse to $15 million, an increase of $5.5 million per event
Both season-long points races will see huge increases as well, with the FedEx Cup bonus pool increasing by $15 million to $75 million, and the Comcast Business Tour Top 10 regular-season pool doubling from $10 million to $20 million. The FedEx Cup winner will now get $18 million, with the regular-season points leader earning $4 million.
The controversial Player Impact Program, which rewards players for their relevance to the PGA Tour fan base and bottom line, will now have a pool of $50 million, up from $40 million.
Every player who makes the minimum 15 starts required to maintain the full voting rights of PGA Tour membership will earn $50,000.
A total of $153 million goes back to players in the form of sponsorships, as required by the Tour's deals with a variety of stakeholders, including equipment companies.
Monahan told players to anticipate even higher purses as the rights fees increase over the course of the new contract, explaining that 55 percent of the Tour's $1.522 billion in revenue will go back to players in 2022.
“We are positioned to grow faster in the next 10 years than we have at any point in our existence,” Monahan said in the memo. “We remain laser‐focused on strengthening our core product and investing in our members.”