The Money Of The Majors
The major championships have increased their purses by 52% since 2021. Over 15 golfers made over $1 million in the majors this year.
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Today At A Glance:
The majors have increased their combined purses by 93% since 2014 and 52% since 2021. Golfers are racking up paychecks in the major championships alone. Over 15 golfers made $1 million combined in the majors this year, with Brooks Koepka leading the way at $5.05 million.
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Hey Golfers —
Men’s golfers competed for a combined $72 million in the four major championships this year — an enormous increase over the last ten years.
Winners of each major for the year:
Masters — Jon Rahm ($3,240,000)
PGA Championship — Brooks Koepka ($3,150,000)
U.S. Open — Wyndham Clark ($3,600,000)
Open Championship — Brian Harman ($3,000,000)
The major championships have seen their purses increase by 93% since 2014. And even crazier — the combined purses have increased by 52% since 2021.
The U.S. Open has been most aggressive with its purse increase over the last ten years — increasing it by 122%. While The PGA Championship has seen the smallest increase in the last ten years at 75%.
Wyndham Clark’s $3.6 million check at the U.S. Open would have led the PGA Tour money list in 1998 and the LPGA Tour money list in 2021 (Lorena Ochoa made $4.36 million in 2007).
A bulk of the purse increases have happened in the last two years. Since 2021 each major has increased its purse significantly.
Masters — 57%
PGA Championship — 46%
U.S. Open — 60%
Open Championship — 44%
When looking at combined major earnings for the year — Brooks Koepka won the most at $5,057,000. The amount would be good enough for 26th on the PGA Tour money list. And it would have placed him 17th on last year’s PGA Tour money list.
Kopeka’s major championship payouts this year.
Masters — $1,584,000
PGA Championship — $3,150,000
U.S. Open — $284,167
Open Championship — $39,025
Scottie Scheffler was the highest earner without winning a major this year — receiving checks worth $3.5 million.
A total of 19 golfers made over $1 million in the four majors combined this year. Nine of the 19 cashed checks in all four majors. And seven golfers made at least $2 million in the majors this year — with four of them making money in all four majors.
A total of eleven golfers cashed checks in all four majors this year. Brooks led the way at $5,057,000, and Tyrrell Hatton earned the least of the eleven at $687,000.
Rick Gehman posted a fascinating Strokes Gained Total Chart for the four majors combined after the final round of The Open.
While Koepka earned the most money in the majors this year — he finished fourth in Strokes Gained Total for the four tournaments.
And the top two finishers in Strokes Gained Total for the majors didn’t win one. Only two of the top 17 golfers in the statistical category won majors this year. But 14 of the 17 golfers in Strokes Gained Total made over $1 million combined in the four majors this year.
It will be interesting to see how the major purse increases progress over the coming years. It is assumed we saw the significant increase from 2021 to 2023 to combat players joining LIV.
Have yourself a great Monday. Talk to you next week!
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I believe Ryan Fox also made the cut at all 4 majors 🇳🇿