The 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans is the only official team event on the 2022-2023 PGA Tour schedule, with 80 teams of two players teaming up to take on TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., in a tournament featuring two formats -- best ball and alternate shot -- played over four days.
When all the golf has been played, one team will stand above the others and win the trophy, the championship belts and a large check that they'll split right down the middle. Behind them, all of the top 33 teams and ties after two rounds will also cash a check this week.
However, splitting up the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans prize money payout is different from every other tournament on the PGA Tour. After all, how is the prize money to be split up equally among two-person teams?
Well, the PGA Tour has thought of that and has a good system in place that rewards teams for their play and still pays them like individuals are paid most weeks on the PGA Tour.
How is prize money split up at the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans?
For the PGA Tour's team event, the first-place payout is set by combining the amount of money that would be paid to a first-place player and a second-place player were this an individual event, then dividing it by two.
At most all PGA Tour events, the winner gets 18 percent of the purse, and the runner-up gets 10.9 percent. In combining that prize money, the winning team each gets 14.45 percent of the purse or 28.9 total percent.
From then on down to the last-place team to make the cut, the prize money is combined from the next two places. So, the second-place team gets to split the combined third- and fourth-place money. The third-place team wins a split of the combined fifth- and sixth-place money.
When teams are tied, all of the money for those place is pooled together, evenly divided among the teams and then evenly divided again among the individuals.
For example, if there is a two-way tie for second place, the hypothetical individual prize money for third place through sixth place would be pooled together, divided in two to the two teams and then divided in two again for the players individually. Or, you could pool that money and just divide once by four to get the individual numbers.