Life as a tour pro is often filled with jeopardy, thanks largely to the fact that most tournaments don’t offer prize money for missing the cut.
Therefore, not only does a player who fails to make it to the latter stages of an event usually head away knowing they have not boosted their bank balance, but they also incur expenses in the form of travel arrangements and any salary owed to the caddie.
There are exceptions. For example, the 2025 Masters handed everyone who missed the cut $25,000, while at the 2024 US Open, those who failed to progress beyond 36 holes each received $10,000, with the logic being that from a pool of over 10,000 people who attempted to qualify, only 156 made it to the event, meaning that alone is an achievement worthy of remuneration. It’s a little different for The Open, where players who miss the cut are paid on a sliding scale, but what about the PGA Championship?
Like the other three Majors, players are paid if they fail to make it to the weekend. That’s something 1991 Champion John Daly, whose win handed him a lifetime exemption to the event, is well aware of.
He’s one of the former champions missing the 2025 edition at Quail Hollow, instead opting to tee it up in Senior Major the Regions Tradition, which is being played at the same time. However, he explained to Doug Ferguson of AP News that he would have been paid if he chose to take up his PGA Championship place and went on to miss the cut.
He said: “I can go there (PGA Championship) and miss the cut and get $6,000. (Instead) I’m playing Birmingham (Alabama). I love Regions. They’re a great sponsor, (but) why are they scheduling Regions the same week as the PGA Championship, where I can see Brooks Koepka and all the guys?”
The details of the prize money available for the 2025 PGA Championship have yet to be confirmed, but if Daly is correct, $6,000 for missing the cut would be more than was offered in 2024, when players who departed after 36 holes were given $4,000 each, a figure that also would have applied to any player making the cut but failing to complete the tournament.
