Players Championship 2017 Payout: Breaking Down Prize-Money Purse Distribution
Dozens of golfers have descended upon Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for one of the most lucrative events on the PGA Tour calendar. The 2017 Players Championship tees off Thursday at 7:10 a.m., and a total of $10.5 million will be on the line.
According to Golf.com, the Players Championship winner will take home nearly 20 percent of the purse himself ($1,890,000). The second-place finisher won't fare too badly either, earning a total of $1,134,000.
| 1 | $1,890,000 |
| 2 | $1,134,000 |
| 3 | $714,000 |
| 4 | $504,000 |
| 5 | $420,000 |
| 6 | $378,000 |
| 7 | $351,750 |
| 8 | $325,500 |
| 9 | $304,500 |
| 10 | $283,500 |
| 11 | $262,500 |
| 12 | $241,500 |
| 13 | $220,500 |
| 14 | $199,500 |
| 15 | $189,000 |
| 16 | $178,500 |
| 17 | $168,000 |
| 18 | $157,500 |
| 19 | $147,000 |
| 20 | $136,500 |
| 21 | $126,000 |
| 22 | $117,600 |
| 23 | $109,200 |
| 24 | $100,800 |
| 25 | $92,400 |
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Dustin Johnson (7-1) is the betting favorite to win the Players Championship, followed closely behind by Rory McIlroy (10-1), per OddsShark.
A back injury prevented Johnson from competing in the Masters last month. He returned at the Wells Fargo Championship a week ago and picked up from where he left off, finishing in a tie for second place.
ESPN.com's Jason Sobel wasn't shocked to see Johnson rebound from a rough second round to make a run at the Wells Fargo title:
"Wait, you're telling me the No. 1 golfer in the world, the guy who'd won each of his last three starts, rallied on the weekend to get into contention?! Sorry, but I'm not exactly shocked by this news. As long as DJ is healthy, he's going to play some really strong golf. We shouldn't be surprised by this latest news."
Johnson has performed well across the board in terms of his overall game. According to PGATour.com, he's first in average driving distance (315.2 yards) and greens in regulation percentage (75.21) and a respectable 23rd in strokes gained putting (.537).
Johnson is justifiably considered the golfer to beat at TPC Sawgrass, but the 32-year-old hasn't enjoyed much luck at the course dating back to 2007. He tied for 28th at the 2016 Players Championship—his best finish at the tournament to date.
Fans looking to identify the biggest sleepers for the 2017 Players Championship would be wise to consider a fact PGATour.com's Mike McAllister highlighted during his process of elimination for determining an eventual champion: not since 2002 has a golfer outside the top 75 won the Players Championship.
The general difficulty of TPC Sawgrass tends to weed out the underdogs.
Assuming the general trend holds, the Players Championship could be a perfect time for Jordan Spieth to bounce back from a string of underwhelming performances.
In each of his last four tournaments, Spieth has finished outside of the top 10 after reeling off five top-five finishes. He didn't even make the cut at the Shell Houston Open in April.
Spieth missed the cut in the 2015 and 2016 Players Championship events. He said keeping things simpler should ensure he doesn't have three missed cuts in a row.
"I love this course, and I think it fits my game well," Spieth said, per the Florida Times-Union's Garry Smits. "I want to think that it's just been kind of a fluke. I know I can play it really well if I play it smart, and I think I've just been trying to do a little too much the last couple years."
Considering Spieth nearly aced the 12th hole during practice Tuesday, it's safe to say Spieth's game is in a good place heading into the first round.
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