Having defeated Justin Rose in a playoff and consequently become the 2025 Masters champion, Rory McIlroy finally achieved a lifetime ambition.
One of the greatest players of his generation had been hunting a Green Jacket for so long yet had often fallen just a couple of shots short in his ultimate quest.
Prior to his first Masters victory, the Northern Irishman had finished inside the top-10 on seven occasions from 17 starts. Mind you, he'd also missed the cut three times since making his debut in 2009.
The consolation tonic for most of those painful stings was a large check, but even the millions he had earned would no doubt have been traded away in a heartbeat for one more run at the title.
Thankfully, once that final putt dropped in 2025 and the four-time Major winner upgraded his record to five triumphs in the biggest championships, McIlroy didn't have to exchange his money. Instead, he was allowed to add $4.2 million to his career tally at Augusta.
And, as is so often the way, five Majors became six just 12 months later as McIlroy successfully defended his title - becoming the fourth man ever to do so and the first since Tiger Woods.
It was at that point McIlroy made more history. His $4.5 million winner's check took him past Woods and previous leader Phil Mickelson into top spot on the list of highest earners in Masters history.
In 18 appearances at Augusta National, McIlroy has earned an astonishing $13 million.
But, what has recently turned out to be a very lucrative week for McIlroy hasn't always been that way. The man from Holywood in Northern Ireland finished T20th on his debut in 2009 and then T15th in 2011 on his third trip.
The most McIlroy earned during his first five visits to Augusta National was $128,000, and even that would have been quite heavily reduced once all was said and done due to factors like taxes and sharing a bonus cut with his caddie, Harry Diamond.
It's worth keeping that in mind when looking at any prize money figure you might see - how much a pro golfer really earns from a tournament is almost always a lot less than the number quoted in payout articles.
Nevertheless, a pro golfer's earnings can rack up quite quickly, and that was true of McIlroy during the mid-2010s when the Northern Irishman was habitually inside the top-10 at Augusta National.
Between 2014-2018, McIlroy finished T8th, 4th, T10th, T7th and T5th and earned just over $1.6 million across those five years.
Strangely, he then missed two cuts in three years but was runner-up - consequently claiming a check for $1.62 million - in 2022.
Below is a breakdown of McIlroy's career results and prize money payouts at The Masters since he turned professional.
RORY MCILROY CAREER MASTERS EARNINGS
Year |
Result |
Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
2009 |
T20th |
$71,400 |
2010 |
MC |
$10,000 |
2011 |
T15th |
$128,000 |
2012 |
T40th |
$32,800 |
2013 |
T25th |
$56,040 |
2014 |
T8th |
$234,000 |
2015 |
4th |
$480,000 |
2016 |
T10th |
$230,000 |
2017 |
T7th |
$354,750 |
2018 |
T5th |
$368,375 |
2019 |
T21st |
$107,956 |
2020 |
T5th |
$437,000 |
2021 |
MC |
$10,000 |
2022 |
2 |
$1.62 million |
2023 |
MC |
$10,000 |
2024 |
T22nd |
$175,500 |
2025 |
Won |
$4.2 million |
2026 |
Won |
$4.5 million |
TOTAL |
$13,043,021 |
