Absolutely no one sets out to win The Masters purely for the money. It is, of course, a brilliant bonus, but the prestige and eternal place in the history books is why pro golfers try so desperately hard to win this one tournament every year.
Even if they don’t manage it, several appearances and high finishes can help fill up a bank account quite quickly and ease the sting of defeat – especially in the modern era.
With prize purses after the turn of the millennium sky rocketing, those still competing in The Masters are able to earn a huge amount of money. The first time a Masters champion received north of $1 million was 2001 (Tiger Woods) while Jon Rahm was (metaphorically) handed a check for $3,240,000 in 2023.
But who has won the most cash overall? Well, perhaps unsurprisingly, the two money leaders heading into the 2024 tournament have not only won several times each, but they’re also still competing.
Some way ahead of one-time winners Jordan Spieth, Rahm, and Dustin Johnson are the legendary figures of Woods and Phil Mickelson. Woods has five Green Jackets to his name while Mickelson has three, but it is Lefty who owns the bragging rights in terms of outright money earned at The Masters.
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Before the 2024 tournament, which was the six-time Major winner’s 31st drive down Magnolia Lane, Mickelson had earned $9,773,317. Victories in 2004 ($1,117,000), 2006 ($1,260,000), and 2010 ($1,350,000) did the majority of the grunt work there, but a T2 result alongside Brooks Koepka in 2023 was also a helpful earner with $1,944,000 million split 50-50 between the American pair.
Aside from those results, Mickelson has an astounding 12 top-10 finishes at The Masters with the first coming in 1995 (T7) and last year’s making him the oldest runner up (52 years, 297 days) – one of many Masters record that Mickelson holds.
Woods, meanwhile, is currently enjoying his 26th trip around Augusta National. During the previous 25, the 15-time Major winner had earned $9,598,236 – meaning he trailed his long-time rival by almost $200,000. To pass him in 2024, Woods would likely need to finish inside the top-22 and hope Mickelson misses the cut.
The Masters is one of the only tournaments where players still earn money for simply teeing it up, though, so both players are…
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