Players Championship 2019 Prize Money: Purse and Payout Info for TPC Sawgrass
March 14, 2019
Prize money has increased by $1.5 million for the 2019 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida on Thursday. The total purse has gone up to $12.5 million (£9.485 million), making the event the most lucrative the sport has ever seen.
It means the winner will be due a payout worth $2.25 million (£1.7 million) compared to the $1.98 million last year's victor Webb Simpson received. The winner will also receive a new-look trophy:
Individual payouts for the full field aren't known yet.
The decision was taken to increase the purse again back in January, with a jump of 13.6 percent above 2018's amount. The total prize money on offer now exceeds any of the four majors.
While there are numerous past winners set to compete, recent years have shunned history, making it possible to see a new winner of the PGA's most-lucrative event.
Simpson took the honour in 2018, and he will be paired with Patrick Reed and two-time winner Tiger Woods for the opening day.
A repeat would take something special from Simpson, after the 33-year-old set several records 12 months ago, per Mike Glasscott the PGA Tour official website: "he led the field in fairways, strokes-gained: putting and par-four and par-five scoring while winning comfortably (73 on Sunday) by four shots."
While Simpson may find himself outplayed by the likes of Woods, World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and 2016 winner Jason Day, there are other worthy contenders. They include Francesco Molinari.
The 2018 Open Winner is in form, having topped the leaderboard at the recent Arnold Palmer Invitational. Molinari is also confident he can handle Stadium Course:
Then there is Brooks Koepka, who "shot the course record at TPC Sawgrass last year," per PGATour.com's Ben Everill.
Koepka is a player in form, having made 2018 a special year during which he won the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. Although Koepka is known for his power with the driver, some feel he has already proved he can adjust his game to the trickier demands of the course:
Matthew Rudy @RudyWriter@scottfawcett @AlanShipnuck Modern bombers seem unable to adapt, except when they do. I would argue that DJ adapted just fine at Oakmont. Brooks Koepka liked Shinnecock just fine. Money and opportunity has simply changed the math. Go for every shot and try next time if you miss works great now.
It's a valid point after the record-setting 63 he shot in the final round a year ago. Koepka has the right mix of distance, striking power and skill on the greens to beat Simpson, Woods and Johnson to the trophy.