The PGA Tour’s latest signature event is one of the most beloved tournaments of the season, as many of the world’s best players head to Muirfield Village for the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament.
The Memorial Tournament is one of only three signature events with a cut, meaning that, for the 72 members of the field, only those who finish in the top 50 and ties, plus any other player within 10 shots of the lead after his second round, will make it to the weekend.
For that reason, unlike five of the eight signature events, not everyone will leave the famous Ohio venue with prize money.
For those who do make it past the 36-hole stage, it will be a very different story. As one of the player-hosted tournaments (the other two being the Tiger Woods-hosted Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational), the prize money distribution is a little different to the other five signature events.
One of the main beneficiaries of that adjustment will be the winner, who will claim prize money of $4m from the overall purse of $20m rather than the $3.6m generally awarded to the winner of signature events. The runner-up will be in line for a payout of $2.2m.
That compares extremely favourably to the other big men’s event this week, the Austrian Alpine Open on the DP World Tour, which has an overall purse of $2.75m.
Meanwhile, there will also be 700 FedEx Cup points available to the winner, who is also projected to gain over 66 world ranking points.
Below is the prize money payout for the Memorial Tournament.
The Memorial Tournament Prize Money Payout
Position |
Prize Money |
|---|---|
1st |
$4,000,000 |
2nd |
$2,200,000 |
3rd |
$1,400,000 |
4th |
$1,000,000 |
5th |
$840,000 |
6th |
$760,000 |
7th |
$700,000 |
8th |
$646,000 |
9th |
$600,000 |
10th |
$556,000 |
11th |
$514,000 |
12th |
$472,000 |
13th |
$430,000 |
14th |
$389,000 |
15th |
$369,000 |
16th |
$349,000 |
17th |
$329,000 |
18th |
$309,000 |
19th |
$289,000 |
20th |
$269,000 |
21st |
$250,000 |
22nd |
$233,000 |
23rd |
$216,000 |
24th |
$200,000 |
25th |
$184,000 |
26th |
$168,000 |
27th |
$161,000 |
28th |
$154,000 |
29th |
$147,000 |
30th |
$140,000 |
31st |
$133,000 |
32nd |
$126,000 |
33rd |
$119,000 |
34th |
$114,000 |
35th |
$109,000 |
36th |
$104,000 |
37th |
$99,000 |
38th |
$94,000 |
39th |
$90,000 |
40th |
$86,000 |
41st |
$82,000 |
42nd |
$78,000 |
43rd |
$74,000 |
44th |
$70,000 |
45th |
$66,000 |
46th |
$62,000 |
47th |
$58,000 |
48th |
$56,000 |
49th |
$54,000 |
50th |
$52,000 |
Who Are The Star Names At The Memorial Tournament?
The defending champion is Scottie Scheffler, who beat Collin Morikawa by one a year ago. The event is the latest of the packed schedule for the American, and his third appearance in as many weeks following his victory in the PGA Championship and T4 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Despite failing to win last week, it was another strong performance for the World No.1 - particularly in the latter stages - and he will be confident of claiming his third victory of the season.
He’ll be helped by the fact that the player immediately beneath him in the world rankings, Rory McIlroy, has opted not to play this week as he prepares for the third Major of the year, the US Open.
However, despite the Masters champion’s absence, there are some huge names alongside Scheffler teeing it up, including last year’s runner-up Morikawa.
Other players in the world top 10 competing are two-time Major winner Xander Schauffele, RBC Heritage victor Justin Thomas, Genesis Invitational champion Ludvig Aberg, Hideki Matsuyama, who won The Sentry in January, Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Russell Henley, and Sepp Straka, who won the Truist Championship.
They are far from the only world-class players teeing it up, with the likes of Maverick McNealy, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland, who won the event in 2023, also playing.
Another former champion in the field is two-time winner Patrick Cantlay, but there’s no place for Billy Horschel, who won in 2022, as he is recovering from surgery on his right hip.
How Much Does The Winner Of The Memorial Tournament Get?
Unlike most other signature events, the winner of the Memorial tournament receives 20% of the $20m purse, rather than the usual 18%. That means that the player who lifts the trophy on Sunday evening will win $4m.
Is Rory McIlroy Playing In The Memorial Tournament?
Rory McIlroy will skip the Memorial Tournament for the first time in eight years, with the RBC Canadian Open from June 5-8 down as his next tournament. McIlroy said at the start of the season he wanted to limit his schedule to help him perform better in the Majors, and with the US Open just two weeks away, it is likely the decision has been taken with preparation for the Oakmont tournament in mind.
