Data predicts staggering 2035 PGA Championship prize money

It’s no secret: today’s major championship prize funds are HUGE.

And the ludicrous sums on offer in the professional game are only going one way. That is up, of course.

Now, online sportsbook BetMGM has predicted how much the winner of the 2035 PGA Championship will receive and the results are staggering.

It’s based on the recent growth trend in prize purses over the past five years, along with inflation data provided by the US-based firm.

Here we go…

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With an assumed 2% annual inflation rate over the next decade, the PGA Championship winner’s prize is likely to reach $8.34 million by 2035.

While the full 2025 payout is yet to be announced, that represents a whopping $4.74 million increase from last year’s $3.6 million prize.

So, what about the winner’s cheque without factoring in inflation?

Well, that figure is projected to rise to $6.84 million based on average annual prize increases since 2020, still a $3.24 million increase on the most recent payout.

Since 2020, when Collin Morikawa won $1.98 million for his first major championship win at TPC Harding Park, total prize money at the PGA Championship has risen by $1.62 million.

As expected, the sum has skyrocketed as the championship has developed over the years.

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In 1916, at the inaugural match play championship, Englishman Jim Barnes sank a four-foot putt on the 36th hole to bank just $500.

Meanwhile, when the legendary Walter Hagen won four straight PGA Championships between 1924 and 1927, he netted $1,000 for each success.

Bob Hamilton’s win in 1944 marked the first monumental prize money leap in the tournament’s history. His triumph over Byron Nelson was worth $3,500 – a 250% increase from the 1942 edition.

And in 1978, John Mahaffey’s comeback win over Tom Watson earned the American the tournament’s first $50,000 cheque.

That rose to $630,000 in 1999, when Tiger Woods won the first of his four Wanamaker trophies, before Shaun Micheel clinched the PGA Championship’s first million-dollar prize in 2003.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.