How LIV Golf Payouts Compare to the PGA Tour
Was LIV's impact on PGA Tour purses greater than the Tiger Effect? It sure was quicker.
LIV Golf and the PGA Tour have been rivals from the beginning, but LIV has arguably done more for PGA Tour players than anything since the Tiger Boom.
Before LIV, most PGA Tour purses were under $10 million, and there was no such thing as a Signature Event. The competition was stiffer, and there was less money to go around.
Then LIV Golf burst onto the scene, hooking then-PGA Tour players with absurd signing bonuses and reeling them in with $25 million tournament purses.
The PGA Tour was quick to react, suddenly finding more cash to inflate purses and create what eventually became its series of Signature Events.
So, how do the payouts compare between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour? Here’s a look at where things stand today, and where they were before LIV Golf shook things up.
PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf Payouts
The money in LIV Golf is astronomical, with $25 million purses for regular-season tournaments and a whopping $50 million for the LIV Golf Championship (although 60% of that purse goes to the winning teams’ operating budget while the other 40% is split evenly between the players).
Every LIV Golf tournament, with the exception of the aforementioned season-ending team championship, has an identical $25 million purse, of which $20 million is designated for individual payouts. The last $5 million is set aside for team performance.
Two other factors influence LIV Golf payouts. Since LIV tournaments feature only 54 players, there are no cuts, and every player gets paid, the payout structure is slightly different.
In other words, a $20 million individual purse on the PGA Tour is divvied out differently than it is on LIV Golf. Here’s a quick look at how it shakes out:
|
$20 Million Individual Purse |
PGA Tour |
LIV Golf |
|
1st Place |
$3,600,000 |
$4,000,000 |
|
10th Place |
$545,000 |
$405,000 |
|
25th Place |
$177,000 |
$195,000 |
|
54th Place |
$47,000 |
$50,000 |
In addition to $20 million in individual payouts, LIV Golf reserves $5 million for team prizes. The top three teams, out of 13 that compete, earn team prizes that are split evenly between the four players on the team.
PGA Tour’s Reaction to LIV Golf
In response to the massive payouts offered by LIV Golf, and in order to keep its top talent, the PGA Tour injected serious cash into its purses starting with the 2023 season.
In total, the PGA Tour paid $560,000,000 over 47 events in 2023, led by its series of elevated events where the tour has increased purse sizes to $20 million (these are now known as Signature Events).
The Travelers Championship is a great example of how those changes have played out in real life. In 2019, before any threat of a competing professional tour and even before COVID changed the financial resources of just about every business, the Travelers Championship offered a $7.2 million purse. Chez Reavie won that tournament and cashed a $1,296,000 check for his efforts.
By 2023, the PGA Tour designated the Travelers as a Signature Event. The purse bloated to $20 million, and Keegan Bradley enjoyed a $3,600,000 payday.
The Biggest Purses On the PGA Tour
Tiger Effect vs. LIV Effect
A rising tide lifts all boats, and the popularity that Tiger Woods brought to golf helped every tour player earn more money. But he didn’t nearly triple the purse and winning paycheck of any tournament in such a short amount of time, the way LIV Golf has forced the PGA Tour to adjust.