Who will take away the Wanamaker Trophy from Xander Schauffele? The world No. 3 might not be in contention to defend his title, but quite a few golfers are fighting for the top spot. The first couple of days saw Jhonattan Vegas dominate the course. His first-round score of 7-under was enough to keep him safe alone at the top going into the weekend. But the Venezuelan added another stroke on Friday to maintain a two-stroke lead against the field. Si Woo Kim and Max Homa also rose the rankings with a 7-under par 64 each to finish at T2 and T5, respectively. But at the end of the third round, Scottie Scheffler has jumped up to the top with a convincing lead.
While the major win will be everyone’s top priority, they will also be eager to earn the biggest paycheck the tournament has to offer. But even if they don’t win, what will each of the 74 positions on the leaderboard earn from the huge purse of the 2025 PGA Championship?
2025 PGA Championship: Big bills to bank
2024 at Valhalla was about a lot more than just the paycheck Xander Schauffele received for winning the Wanamaker Trophy. After 9 years of struggle, coming close to winning majors, Schauffele had finally won his first in the 2024 PGA Championship. Beyond lifting the iconic Trophy, Schauffele did receive a $3.33 million paycheck. That was his cut from the $18.5 million prize money of the major. But, just as we have seen in the last few years, the purse for the majors has been gradually increasing. In 2021, it went from $11 million to $12 million. It jumped up to $17.5 million in 2023 for Brooks Koepka‘s win. Last year, the PGA of America added another million to the field reward. The latest report confirms that the 2025 edition of the tournament will be played for $19 million.
Bob Haring confirmed the relayed news through his tweet a few hours ago. He wrote, “PGA announced purse increase of $500,000 to $19 million with $3.42 million going to the winner,” giving a hint at what the third-round leader, Scottie Scheffler, might win if he continues his run on Sunday.
Let’s take a look at what everyone else who made the cut might make.
Position
Prize Money
1st
$3,420,000
2nd
$2,052,000
3rd
$1,292,000
4th
$912,000
5th
$760,000
6th
$683,880
7th
$640,220
8th
$598,270
9th
$558,140
10th
$519,830
11th
$483,360
12th
$448,700
13th
$415,870
14th
$384,860
15th
$355,680
16th
$328,320
17th
$302,780
18th
$279,070
19th
$257,180
20th
$237,120
21st
$218,880
22nd
$202,460
23rd
$187,870
24th
$176,010
25th
$164,610
26th
$153,670
27th
$143,180
28th
$133,150
29th
$123,570
30th
$114,450
31st
$107,160
32nd
$100,770
33rd
$95,300
34th
$90,740
35th
$87,100
36th
$83,630
37th
$80,260
38th
$76,970
39th
$73,780
40th
$70,680
41st
$67,670
42nd
$64,750
43rd
$61,920
44th
$59,190
45th
$56,540
46th
$53,990
47th
$51,530
48th
$49,160
49th
$46,880
50th
$44,690
51st
$42,590
52nd
$40,580
53rd
$38,670
54th
$36,840
55th
$35,110
56th
$33,470
57th
$31,920
58th
$30,640
59th
$29,550
60th
$28,640
61st
$27,910
62nd
$27,380
63rd
$26,920
64th
$26,490
65th
$26,080
66th
$25,680
67th
$25,290
68th
$24,920
69th
$24,570
70th
$24,240
71st
$23,940
72nd
$23,740
73rd
$23,570
74th
$23,420
As you can see, the prize money has been dispersed to 74 players. While the 2025 PGA Championship originally had planned a cut at 70, ties from 68 and beyond took the weekend field to 74. Hence, there won’t be further changes in the paychecks for each position unless there are ties within the available field.
PGA announced purse increase of $500,000 to $19 million with $3.42 million going to the winner
— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) May 17, 2025
With the penultimate round completed, let’s see who is in line to challenge Scottie Scheffler for the maximum from the $19 million pot.
Potential challengers for Scottie Scheffler at Quail Hollow
After a miserable first round, tournament favorite Rory McIlroy has failed to recover to compete for the top spot on the leaderboard. However, Bryson DeChambeau is making a run to steal the Wanamaker Trophy from Scottie Scheffler on Sunday. DeChambeau ended the third round with a total of 5 under par. However, in a surprising turn of events, Jon Rahm‘s outstanding push to the top has helped him jump up 22 spots to T5.
However, the closest golfer to Scheffler at the end of the delayed third round is Alex Noren. He had the second-best score for the round, finishing at 5-under par 66 for the day to push himself to -8. However, Scottie Scheffler is sitting safely at the top spot after a flurry of birdies and an eagle. He has a 3-stroke lead against Noren and everyone else on the field.
Do you think Scheffler will end up winning the $3.42 million paycheck on Sunday, or will someone else take the spotlight at the end of the 2025 PGA Championship?
The post PGA Championship 2025: Prize Money Breakdown & Winner’s Payout appeared first on EssentiallySports.