PGA Championship Payout: How Much Do the Winners Take Home?

The 2022 PGA Championship took place over the weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the sixth tee during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas on May 27, 2022. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

By Emily Rella

It’s no new news that professional athletes are paid quite handsomely to play their respective sports.

For sports like tennis and golf, where big-name tournaments draw in players and spectators a few times a year, the purse payouts for winners tend to come in a large lump sum.

This year’s PGA Championship, which took place at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was no different, with the final championship purse being bumped up to a whopping $15 million total.

But how are PGA tour purse payouts divided?

The largest PGA Championship purse payout, of course, goes to the first place winner, which was Justin Thomas.

According to the PGA Championship rules, the first place golfer takes home 18 percent of the total championship purse.

The projected earnings for the second, third, and fourth winners were $1.62 million, $1.02 million, and $720,000, respectively.

However, since third and fourth place were tied this year, the total projected earnings for third and fourth place were combined and then divided evenly amongst the players.

Justin Thomas of the United States poses with the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 22, 2022. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

The championship purse money is funded by a combination of sources, the majority of which comes from major TV networks with the rest coming from sponsors of the tournament, per Golfweek.

Thomas, who also won the esteemed tournament in 2017, won in an unexpected comeback after going into the last round a solid seven shots behind fellow golfer Will Zalatoris, who was projected to win at the start of the final round.

The 2022 PGA Champion took home $2.7 million—but he wasn’t the only one who took home over $1 million over the weekend.

Zalatoris also walked away with a pretty penny, earning an estimated $1.62 million for his gameplay.

Will Zalatoris of the United States plays his shot from the sixth tee during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas on May 27, 2022. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Fellow golfers Mito Pereiro and Cameron Young each took home $870,000 in prize money.

The lowest earning player, Sepp Straka, still took home $23,700 for ranking 78th in the tournament.

In 2021, Phil Mickelson won the championship and earned $2.16 million from the purse, earning slightly less than Thomas for clinching the top spot.

The 2022 PGA Championship was the second major of the year, following The Masters which took place in the beginning of April.

The next major set to take place is the U.S. Open, which begins on June 13 in Brookline, Massachusetts.

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