2026 Masters sets record $22.5M purse as Rory McIlroy leads historic payday at Augusta
The 2026 Masters didn’t just deliver drama at Augusta. It made history with a record-breaking payday that shows just how much the game has changed.
2026 Masters sets record $22. 5M purse as Rory McIlroy leads historic payday at Augusta originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Masters has always been about tradition. The green jacket. The roars at Augusta.
The history that builds every April. But in 2026, it also became about something else. Money, and a lot of it.
This year’s Masters featured a record $22. 5 million purse, the largest ever for one of golf’s four major championships. It is a number that reflects where the sport is right now and how much the stakes continue to rise at the highest level.