Players Championship: Marquee PGA Tour event to BOOST prize purse to $20 million

One of the marquee events on the PGA Tour will have a prize purse of $20 million next year. 

The Players Championship at the iconic TPC Sawgrass is one of the most looked forward to events on the schedule.

It means that the winner will receive $3.6 million for taking the title.

The news was first reported by Golf Channel after they got their hands on an internal memo. 

Golfweek have since reported on the news.

It means that since 2015 the prize purse has doubled and is still the richest tournament on the PGA Tour. 

The purse was $15 million when Justin Thomas won last year, taking home $2.7 million. 

"The Tour is certainly committed to maintaining its position as the premier global tour in men's professionalgolf," Players executive director Jared Rice told Golfweek. 

Go ahead and raise your hand if you love a good @JustinThomas34 club twirl.



We'll go first https://t.co/2pQIxkNuaW pic.twitter.com/M0JxQB2gyU

— THE PLAYERS (@THEPLAYERSChamp) September 3, 2021

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"This increase further elevates the Players as the best championship in men's professional golf and furthers our efforts to deliver the flagship event of the PGA Tour in Northeast Florida, with the strongest field, the purest test of golf and a record-setting purse." 

According to the memo, the Tour also wants to incentivize international players to complete in at least 15 tournaments. 

Reportedly, players can earn a bonus of $50,000 under the "Play 15 Bonus" so they can retain their membership and qualify as voting members. 

Elsewhere, it was reported that the Tour is also bumping the prize purse for the Sentry Tournament of Champions to $8 million. 

When the Players was first held in 1974, the winner took home $50,000 from the $250,000 purse. 

How times change. 

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