PGA Championship purse 2014: $1.8 million in prize money awaits winner

The PGA Championship might be the fourth major for some, but it’s got the richest purse in the game. Ted Bishop has been an aggressive and outside-the-box leader at the PGA of America and one of his moves at the end of last year was announcing the PGA’s move to a $10 million purse.

That’s a $2 million increase from last year at Oak Hill, and set the pace for all the other majors to bump their purses from last year’s $8 million total. It was definitely a move that upset the synergy of having all four majors pay out the same amount, and the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open all increased their purses this year to at least $9 million, but none matched the $10 million commitment by the PGA last year.

Bishop made the announcement in conjunction with Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour, which also boosted the purse at its marquee event, The Players Championship, to $10 million. The Players had always been by itself as having the largest payout in golf, but now the season’s final major is right there with the folks in Ponte Vedra.

The 54-hole leader, Rory McIlroy, is obviously one of the richest young players in the game. The check is enormous, but not exactly life-changing or the first priority for a player like McIlroy. He just banked $1,665,788 for winning the Open Championship three weeks ago, and another $1,530,000 last Sunday by winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. If he wins the PGA, it would be as lucrative a three-week stretch possible in golf, not including any outside endorsements or appearance fees.

The WGC purses, which were actually larger than the majors last year, were also all pushed to $9 million this season. Those four events -- the Match Play, Doral, Firestone and the HSBC in China -- have always been separate and distinct from every other PGA Tour event. But from a money perspective, that’s just as major a victory as the one at Hoylake and the possible title at Valhalla.

In addition to the big boost to the winner’s earnings, the $10 million purse also means that the second-place finisher, should there be no ties, takes home seven figures. The leaderboard is bunched up at the moment, but should someone separate himself into solo second, he’ll earn a $1.08 million check. That’s $700k less than the winner, but still an enormous sum for not even winning a tournament.

The purse is just one way the PGA of America is trying to separate itself from the USGA, R&A and Augusta National. Bishop has been a leader in the #hackgolf movement using larger, 15-inch cups and also a booster of Footgolf. The PGA is always willing to try new venues and refuses to be held hostage by par, as we’re witnessing with the birdiefest this weekend in Louisville. But on Sunday afternoon, it’s distinguished itself by putting more money up than any other major.

From the PGA of America, here’s a purse breakdown for the full field. These totals will obviously change after conclusion of the tournament based on ties.