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Masters 2017: Finish ninth and you'll earn more than Arnold Palmer made his entire career at Augusta
Dom Furore
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The winner of this year’s Masters will be more handsomely rewarded than any previous golfer to slip on a green jacket.
Augusta National Golf Club announced it has increased the overall purse for the year’s first major from $10 million in 2016 to $11 million, with the winner receiving a record $1,980,000.
Despite the club’s largesse, it did not match the bump in purse that will be seen at this year’s U.S. Open. USGA officials announced in February that they would be increasing the overall purse from $10 million to $12 million, with the winner receiving $2 million.
The Masters breakdown for those finishing in the top 10 (with 2016 amounts in parenthesis):
1st: $1,980,000 ($1,800,000) 2nd: $1,188,000 ($1,080,000) 3rd: $748,000 ($680,000) 4th: $528,000 ($480,000) 5th: $440,000 ($400,000) 6th: $396,000 ($360,000) 7th: $368,500 ($335,000) 8th: $341,000 ($310,000) 9th: $319,000 ($290,000) 10th: $297,000 ($270,000)
For a basis of comparison, the purse for the first Masters in 1934 was $5,000, with the winner getting $1,500. And when Fred Couples won the Masters 25 years ago, his first-place check was only $270,000.
Or how about this: Six-time winner Jack Nicklaus won $882,359 for his entire career at the Masters, which included 45 starts, and Arnold Palmer earned $309,013 in his 50 starts.