The Tour Championship this week at East Lake in Atlanta offers the biggest single-event purse in PGA Tour history – $60 million.
And yet, the Tour Championship has no PGA Tour “prize money.”
OK, we’re having a little fun with semantics here.
The PGA Tour is not offering any prize money to the 30 golfers who made it to the final of the three-event FedEx Cup Playoffs this week.
However, there is still a huge pile of FedEx Cup race bonus cash available, including $15 million set aside for the winner in Atlanta on Sunday.
A record $70 million was available this season as bonus money.
The first $10 million was awarded as part the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. The money was given to the player who finished in the top 10 of the regular-season standings. Brooks Koepka finished first and earned $2 million.
FEDEX CUP: Standings | BMW Championship Results
That leaves $60 million up for grabs at East Lake – all of it FedEx Cup bonus money.
In the biggest change from the past, all of the FedEx Cup bonus money will be awarded based solely on how players finish this weekend. Last year, Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship but Justin Rose was able to hold on for the FedEx Cup Championship and $10 million in bonus money.
Justin Thomas will enter play on Thursday at 10-under par and with a 2-shot lead over Patrick Cantlay. Thomas and Cantlay are 1 and 2 respectively in the FedEx Cup standings after the BMW Championship.
The runner-up on Sunday will earn $5 million. That number alone needs its own paragraph. We could very much see a situation where one shot separates the winner and runner-up, or the Tour Championship is won in a playoff. That $10 million disparity for a potential single shot is more than the $9 million won by Phil Mickelson in his “Match” against Tiger Woods on the 22nd hole last year.
Eight players at East Lake this week will earn at least $1 million and everyone who plays this weekend is guaranteed at least $395,000.
Here’s some perspective on these numbers, courtesy of No Laying Up:
- A top five-finish this week nets you more money than winning any other 2019 tournament
- The winner’s earnings from this week alone would rank 122nd on the all-time money list
The other players who qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs but missed out on the BMW Championship or the Tour Championship will earn at least $100,000, while Nos. 126-150 in the final FedExCup standings get $70,000 in bonus cash.
FedEx Cup bonus money is not considered part of a player’s official earnings for the season.
Tour Championship Prize Money Breakdown
Pos. | Money |
1. | $15 million |
2. | $5 million |
3. | $4 million |
4. | $3 million |
5. | $2.5 million |
6. | $1.9 million |
7. | $1.3 million |
8. | $1.1 million |
9. | $950,000 |
10. | $830,000 |
11. | $750,000 |
12. | $705,000 |
13. | $660,000 |
14. | $620,000 |
15. | $595,000 |
16. | $570,000 |
17. | $550,000 |
18. | $535,000 |
19. | $520,000 |
20. | $505,000 |
21. | $490,000 |
22. | $478,000 |
22. | $478,000 |
23. | $466,000 |
24. | $456,000 |
25. | $445,000 |
26. | $435,000 |
27. | $425,000 |
28. | $415,000 |
29. | $405,000 |
30. | $395,000 |