It was a remarkable end to the John Deere Classic in 2026 as Chris Gotterup was crowned champion following a huge 72nd-hole error from challenger, Ben Kohles.
Gotterup had already reached the clubhouse on 20-under following a final round of 62 - the lowest of the week - when Kohles found water and knocked himself out of contention.
Not only that, the five-time Korn Ferry Tour winner lost out on potentially more than $1 million in prize money, which was a real bitter pill to swallow. Nevertheless, Kohles more than doubled his PGA Tour prize money total for the year.
For everyone else, picking up as much money as possible was the aim, with some huge checks on the table once they made the cut.
And the reward for making the cut is even better than last year when an $8.4 million prize purse was up for grabs in Silvis, Illinois and Brian Campbell won.
In 2026, the John Deere Classic put up an impressive $8.8 million tournament purse, with almost $1.6 million going the way of Gotterup.
Runner-up, Max Homa, banked just under $1 million - which is one heck of a consolation prize by the way - while everyone who finished T21st or better picked up at least $100,000.
The John Deere Classic might not have featured the kind of money that was on the line at the recent US Open or indeed in the British Isles when links golf comes to the party later this month, but it was certainly nothing to be sniffed at and is quite the incentive still.
Below is the complete prize money payout for each position at the 2026 John Deere Classic.
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC PRIZE MONEY BREAKDOWN
Position |
Player |
Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
1st (-20) |
Chris Gotterup |
$1,584,000 |
2nd (-19) |
Max Homa |
$959,200 |
T3rd (-18) |
Lucas Glover |
$466,400 |
T3rd (-18) |
Lee Hodges |
$466,400 |
T3rd (-18) |
Ben Kohles |
$466,400 |
T6th (-17) |
Mac Meissner |
$297,000 |
T6th (-17) |
Jackson Suber |
$297,000 |
T6th (-17) |
Doug Ghim |
$297,000 |
T9th (-16) |
Ryo Hisatsune |
$239,800 |
T9th (-16) |
Zach Johnson |
$239,800 |
T9th (-16) |
Zac Blair |
$239,800 |
T12th (-15) |
Christian Bezuidenhout |
$187,000 |
T12th (-15) |
Tyler Duncan |
$187,000 |
T12th (-15) |
Blades Brown |
$187,000 |
T15th (-14) |
Kevin Yu |
$143,000 |
T15th (-14) |
Stephan Jaeger |
$143,000 |
T15th (-14) |
Matt Kuchar |
$143,000 |
T15th (-14) |
Rickie Fowler |
$143,000 |
T15th (-14) |
Chandler Phillips |
$143,000 |
T15th (-14) |
Preston Stout (A) |
$0 |
T21st (-13) |
Harry Higgs |
$100,056 |
T21st (-13) |
Zecheng Dou |
$100,056 |
T21st (-13) |
David Lipsky |
$100,056 |
T21st (-13) |
Troy Merritt |
$100,056 |
T21st (-13) |
Ben Griffin |
$100,056 |
T26th (-12) |
Keegan Bradley |
$66,188.57 |
T26th (-12) |
Jacob Bridgeman |
$66,188.57 |
T26th (-12) |
Davis Thompson |
$66,188.57 |
T26th (-12) |
Pontus Nyholm |
$66,188.57 |
T26th (-12) |
Erik van Rooyen |
$66,188.57 |
T26th (-12) |
Emiliano Grillo |
$66,188.57 |
T26th (-12) |
William Mouw |
$66,188.57 |
T33rd (-11) |
Matt Wallace |
$49,133.33 |
T33rd (-11) |
Michael Brennan |
$49,133.33 |
T33rd (-11) |
Nick Dunlap |
$49,133.33 |
T33rd (-11) |
Davis Chatfield |
$49,133.33 |
T33rd (-11) |
David Skinns |
$49,133.33 |
T33rd (-11) |
Tom Hoge |
$49,133.33 |
T39th (-10) |
Eric Cole |
$36,520 |
T39th (-10) |
Lanto Griffin |
$36,520 |
T39th (-10) |
Trace Crowe |
$36,520 |
T39th (-10) |
Karl Vilips |
$36,520 |
T39th (-10) |
Pierceson Coody |
$36,520 |
T39th (-10) |
Beau Hossler |
$36,520 |
T39th (-10) |
Aaron Wise |
$36,520 |
T46th (-9) |
Mackenzie Hughes |
$26,206.40 |
T46th (-9) |
Joel Dahmen |
$26,206.40 |
T46th (-9) |
Keita Nakajima |
$26,206.40 |
T46th (-9) |
Mark Hubbard |
$26,206.40 |
T46th (-9) |
Tom Kim |
$26,206.40 |
T51st (-8) |
Adrien Dumont de Chassart |
$21,358.86 |
T51st (-8) |
Max McGreevy |
$21,358.86 |
T51st (-8) |
Keith Mitchell |
$21,358.86 |
T51st (-8) |
JT Poston |
$21,358.86 |
T51st (-8) |
Luke Gutschewski |
$21,358.86 |
T51st (-8) |
Chan Kim |
$21,358.86 |
T51st (-8) |
Andrew Putnam |
$21,358.86 |
T58th (-7) |
Jordan Spieth |
$19,888 |
T58th (-7) |
Austin Eckroat |
$19,888 |
T58th (-7) |
Hayden Springer |
$19,888 |
T58th (-7) |
Peter Malnati |
$19,888 |
T58th (-7) |
Tony Finau |
$19,888 |
T58th (-7) |
Austin Smotherman |
$19,888 |
64th (-6) |
WIll Gordon |
$19,272 |
T65th (-5) |
Camilo Villegas |
$19,008 |
T65th (-5) |
Davis Riley |
$19,008 |
T67th (-4) |
Zach Bauchou |
$18,480 |
T67th (-4) |
Rafael Campos |
$18,480 |
T67th (-4) |
Steven Fisk |
$18,480 |
T67th (-4) |
Patrick Fishburn |
$18,480 |
T71st (-3) |
Jonathan Byrd |
$17,864 |
T71st (-3) |
AJ Ewart |
$17,864 |
T71st (-3) |
Sungjae Im |
$17,864 |
T74th (-2) |
Fabian Gomez |
$17,336 |
T74th (-2) |
Nicholas Lindheim |
$17,336 |
T74th (-2) |
Michael Feagles |
$17,336 |
77th (E) |
Ryan Vools |
$16,984 |
78th (+2) |
Gordon Sargent |
$16,808 |
79th (+4) |
Ryan Brehm |
$16,632 |
