The PGA Championship was a thrilling spectacle this year at Aronimink, where England's Aaron Rai held off a number of huge names to win his maiden Major title.
Despite some questions surrounding the setup, including its tough pin positions, the Philadelphia course proved to be the star of the show, and Rai tamed it with a stunning nine-under-par total.
The PGA Championship, which at times in recent years has been a birdie fest, has played more like a US Open, with players struggling to post low scores before more opportunities presented themselves on Saturday.
That’s partly down to the Donald Ross-designed layout, with the undulating greens causing difficulties, as well as the thick rough.
Rai is the man lifting the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday evening, and he earns more prize money than has ever been awarded at the tournament.
A year ago, the purse was $19m, and winner Scottie Scheffler earned $3.42m.
However, this year, $20.5m in prize money is available, with the champion winning $3.69m, before various factors reduce how much players actually earn.
That’s $90,000 more than players earn in the non-player-hosted PGA Tour Signature Events, although it is less than the $4m given to winners of the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament, despite a larger overall purse.
It is by far and away Rai's biggest ever payday.
Further down the leaderboard, solo second wins a huge $2.214m, with third-place earning $1.394m. Meanwhile, even the player finishing 82nd banks $23,900.
It’s not just the players who made the cut who earn prize money from the event, with those who failed to make it beyond 36 holes all winning $4,300.
Despite the record prize money, it is still less than what was offered at the first Major of the year, The Masters. At Augusta National, $22.5m was available, with winner Rory McIlroy scooping $4.5m.
Like that event, there's more than just prize money at stake with plenty of great perks on offer, though, with the winner earning a lifetime exemption to the event, five-year exemptions to the other three Majors, 100 world ranking points and 750 FedEx Cup points.
Below is the prize money payout for each position at the PGA Championship before ties are taken into account.
PGA Championship Prize Money Breakdown 2026
Position |
Prize Money |
|---|---|
1st |
$3,690,000 |
2nd |
$2,214,000 |
3rd |
$1,394,000 |
4th |
$984,000 |
5th |
$820,000 |
6th |
$727,600 |
7th |
$681,050 |
8th |
$636,400 |
9th |
$593,700 |
10th |
$553,000 |
11th |
$514,160 |
12th |
$477,300 |
13th |
$442,370 |
14th |
$409,390 |
15th |
$378,340 |
16th |
$349,240 |
17th |
$322,080 |
18th |
$296,850 |
19th |
$273,570 |
20th |
$252,230 |
21st |
$232,830 |
22nd |
$215,370 |
23rd |
$199,840 |
24th |
$187,230 |
25th |
$175,110 |
26th |
$163,460 |
27th |
$152,310 |
28th |
$141,640 |
29th |
$131,450 |
30th |
$121,750 |
31st |
$113,990 |
32nd |
$107,200 |
33rd |
$101,380 |
34th |
$96,530 |
35th |
$92,650 |
36th |
$88,960 |
37th |
$85,370 |
38th |
$81,880 |
39th |
$78,480 |
40th |
$75,180 |
41st |
$71,980 |
42nd |
$68,880 |
43rd |
$65,870 |
44th |
$62,960 |
45th |
$60,150 |
46th |
$57,430 |
47th |
$54,810 |
48th |
$52,290 |
49th |
$49,860 |
50th |
$47,540 |
51st |
$45,300 |
52nd |
$43,170 |
53rd |
$41,130 |
54th |
$39,190 |
55th |
$37,350 |
56th |
$35,600 |
57th |
$33,950 |
58th |
$32,600 |
59th |
$31,430 |
60th |
$30,460 |
61st |
$29,690 |
62nd |
$29,120 |
63rd |
$28,640 |
64th |
$28,180 |
65th |
$27,740 |
66th |
$27,310 |
67th |
$26,890 |
68th |
$26,480 |
69th |
$26,080 |
70th |
$25,690 |
71st |
$25,360 |
72nd |
$25,040 |
73rd |
$24,730 |
74th |
$24,530 |
75th |
$24,370 |
76th |
$24,230 |
77th |
$24,130 |
78th |
$24,040 |
79th |
$23,970 |
80th |
$23,930 |
81st |
$23,910 |
82nd |
$23,900 |
