Money, money
Masters 2025: This Augusta money milestone Rory McIlroy could crack is hard to fathom
Photo by JD Cuban
AUGUSTA, Ga. — When Rory McIlroy tees off at Augusta National on Sunday with a two-shot lead in the 2025 Masters, seeking to become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam, prize money will be the last thing on his mind. But considering this week’s record-breaking Masters purse, it’s on ours, which leads us to this incredible stat:
Should McIlroy win the $4.2 million first-place prize money payout, he will nearly double his entire career earnings in the Masters.
That’s right, in 16 previous starts at Augusta National, where McIlroy has had seven top-10 finishes including a runner-up in 2022, McIlroy has made a little more than $4.3 million. Here’s the breakdown:
2009: $71,400 (T-20)
2010: $10,000 (MC)
2011: $128,000 (T-15)
2012: $32,000 (T-40)
2013: $56,040 (T-25)
2014: $234,000 (T-8)
2015: $480,000 (4)
2016: $230,000 (T-10)
2017: $354,750 (T-7)
2018: $386,375 (T-5)
2019: $107,956 (T-21)
2020: $437,000 (T-5)
2021: $10,000 (MC)
2022: $1,620,000 (2)
2023: $10,000 (MC)
2024: $175,500 (T-22)
TOTAL: $4,343,021
That McIlroy can just about match this sum in one week’s worth of work speaks to the rapid increase in purses in professional golf in recent years with the advent of LIV Golf and their $20 million overall purses, which were matched by the PGA Tour's signature events with the majors also rapidly increasing their payouts. The purse this week at the Masters is a tournament-record $21 million, up a $1 million from last year. It's also $6 million more than in 2022 and an increase of nearly $10 million from 2021.
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McIlroy’s first Masters start was in 2009, when the total purse was a little more than $7.5 million. For his T-20 finish that year, McIlroy won $71,400. A 20th-place finish this year will net $273,000.
Currently, the top paying men’s major championship remains the U.S. Open, with the USGA paying $21.5 million in prize money in 2024. The PGA Championship bumped its purse last year to $18.5 million and the Open Championship paid $17 million at Royal Troon in 2024.
With his win in last month’s Players Championship, McIlroy won $4.5 million as part of the tournament’s $25 million purse. That helped him jump to No. 2 on the all-time PGA Tour money list, with $100,046,906.
All incredible figures, but none matter to McIlroy on Sunday—history trumps all.