One week before the PGA Championship at Valhalla comes the latest of the PGA Tour’s signature events, the Wells Fargo Championship.
Because of the elevated status of the Quail Hollow tournament, not only are many of the best players in the world competing the week before the second Major of the year but there is also one of the largest purses of the season on offer.
Like most other signature events, this week’s tournament will have a prize money payout of $20m. The winner will claim a first prize of $3.6m, with $2.16m going to the runner-up.
The event is also a limited-field, no-cut contest, meaning each of the 70 players will receive a payment, with even the player who finishes bottom of the leaderboard receiving $40,000.
The purse is comfortably the largest in the men’s elite game this week with the alternate PGA Tour event taking place this week, the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic, offering a payout of $4m, with $720,000 going to the winner.
There are also 700 FedEx Cup points available to the winner.
RBC Heritage Prize Money Payout
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Even though many of the world’s best are in attendance, one notable absentee is World No.1 Scottie Scheffler. The American has been in the form of his life throughout 2024, but he has skipped the event as the birth of his first child looms.
There is still plenty of world-class ability on display, though. Rory McIlroy is a three-time winner of the event, and he plays two weeks after claiming his 25th PGA Tour title alongside Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The defending champion is Wyndham Clark, and he is also in the field, along with 2022 winner Max Homa. Jason Day, who claimed victory in 2018 and Brian Harman, who won the title the year before the Australian, also compete, along with 2012 winner Rickie Fowler.
Other big names to look out for include Jordan Spieth, who is playing in his last tournament before his latest attempt career Grand Slam at the PGA Championship. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay also play - two of seven players in the world’s top 10 in the field. That would have been eight, but three days before the event, World No.6 Ludvig Aberg withdraw because of a knee issue.
Why Isn’t Scottie Scheffler Playing Wells Fargo?
Scheffler has opted to skip the event because the birth of his first child is looming. Previously, he had vowed to withdraw from The Masters if his wife, Meredith, went into labor during the tournament, saying: "You only have your first child once, so I would rather be at home if that is going to happen.” Because of the circumstances, it is not yet clear if Scheffler will appear at the PGA Championship.
Who Has Committed To The Wells Fargo Championship?
Despite the absence of Scottie Scheffler, there are plenty of big names in the field, including defending champion Wyndham Clark, three-time winner Rory McIlroy and five more of the world’s top 10 including Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland.
