The 90th Masters Tournament tees off on April 9 with a record prize fund that reflects both the tournament’s enduring prestige and the broader explosion in professional golf prize money over recent years. For players at every position in the field, the financial stakes at Augusta National in 2026 are the highest in the tournament’s history.
Here’s the complete breakdown of how much every competitor will earn — from the champion down to the 50th-place finisher — and what those numbers mean in the context of professional golf’s financial landscape.
The 2026 Masters Total Purse
The 2026 Masters features a total purse of $21 million — a figure that places it firmly among the most lucrative events in professional golf and continues the Masters’ trend of annual prize fund increases that has seen the total double over the past decade.
To understand just how dramatic that growth has been: in 2010, the total Masters purse was $7 million. In 2020, it was $11.5 million. The 2026 figure of $21 million represents a three-fold increase in 16 years — outpacing inflation and reflecting Augusta National’s deliberate positioning of the Masters as a premium financial event, not just a prestige one.
Masters 2026 Prize Money Breakdown
- Winner: $3.78 million
- Runner-up: $2.27 million
- 3rd place: $1.43 million
- 4th place: $1.01 million
- 5th place: $840,000
- 6th place: $756,000
- 7th place: $703,500
- 8th place: $651,000
- 9th place: $609,000
- 10th place: $567,000
- 20th place: ~$210,000
- 30th place: ~$115,000
- 50th place: ~$55,000
Every player who makes the cut at Augusta National earns a meaningful payday. Even 50th place — which in most professional sports would feel like a consolation prize — earns more than many club professionals earn in a year.
What the Champion’s $3.78 Million Means
The winner’s cheque of $3.78 million is striking not just for its size but for what it represents in the context of the season’s financial picture. On the PGA Tour, the FedEx Cup bonus — the season-long points championship — pays $25 million to its winner. But major championships, particularly Augusta, command a premium beyond the official prize money through endorsement uplifts, appearance fee increases, and the kind of career-defining value that no other tournament produces.
Rory McIlroy, last year’s defending champion, reportedly saw endorsement renewal negotiations shift by tens of millions of dollars following his 2025 Masters win — the culmination of his 11-year wait for a second career slam. A second consecutive victory in 2026 would push those numbers further still.
For Scottie Scheffler, the favourite at +550, a third Masters title would be a complex prize: financially significant, but perhaps less transformative for someone who has already won three majors and is universally recognised as the world’s best player. For the 22 rookies in the field, the prize money is almost secondary — the prestige and career-trajectory change of a Masters win would be immeasurable.
How Augusta Compares to Other Majors
The four major championships have all dramatically increased their prize funds in recent years, partly in response to LIV Golf’s entry into the market and the broader inflation in prize money across professional golf.
- 2026 Masters: $21 million total / $3.78m winner
- 2025 US Open: $21.5 million total / $3.87m winner
- 2025 The Open Championship: £17 million total / ~$3.06m winner
- 2025 PGA Championship: $19.5 million total / $3.51m winner
The Masters sits in the middle of this range — deliberately. Augusta National has historically been conservative about prize fund increases, preferring to let prestige rather than prize money define the tournament’s appeal. That approach has largely worked: the Masters remains the most coveted title in golf regardless of its financial ranking among the majors.
LIV Golf’s Financial Context
The arrival of LIV Golf in 2022 permanently changed professional golf’s financial landscape. Players who joined LIV — including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka, all of whom are in the 2026 Masters field — earn guaranteed contracts worth far more than any single major prize.
The Masters’ position within this changed landscape is interesting: it remains the one event that all factions of professional golf unite around, regardless of tour affiliation. LIV players, PGA Tour regulars, and DP World Tour representatives all compete at Augusta on equal terms — and the prize money, while substantial, is secondary to what a green jacket represents.
The Cut: What It Costs to Miss It
Players who miss the cut at Augusta — typically set after 36 holes at the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the leader — receive no prize money. This is unique among majors: both the US Open and The Open Championship pay players who miss the cut, but the Masters does not.
It’s a policy that reinforces Augusta National’s philosophy: the Masters is not a participation event. The green jacket is earned, and so is every dollar of prize money that comes with it.
For everything you need to know about following the action, our Masters 2026 TV schedule and streaming guide has full broadcast details across all four days of the tournament.
