How Much Money The Main Professional Golf Tours Are Playing For In 2026

Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Jeeno Thitikul and Rory McIlroy

How much prize money does each of the main tours offer in 2026?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The battle for supremacy between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is well known, with one of the stories never far from the headlines being the prize money on offer on each circuit.

Four years into LIV Golf's existence, that shows little sign of easing, with the PGA Tour attempting to go toe-to-toe with the Saudi-backed league to entice its exisiting big names to stay - and for others to return.

PGA Tour - $487.9m

Chris Gotterup is presented with a cheque at the Sony Open in Hawaii — Even regular PGA Tour events have huge prize money in 2026

Since 2023, the PGA Tour has significantly ramped up its prize money, and no more so than in its Signature Events.

There are eight Signature Events in 2026, and each offers a purse of $20m.

Meanwhile, an identical sum will be available at the first of the two FedEx Cup Playoffs, the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship, with $40m at the Tour Championship.

The PGA Tour's flagship event is The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, and that has suitably huge purse too, with $25m on the table.

The PGA Tour's regular events are also not short of potentially life-changing prize money, with many approaching a $10m purse, while even its alternate events offer significant payouts, with $4m available at each.

All this means that, overall, close to $490m will be distributed over the course of the season.

LIV Golf - $470m

John Rahm with the LIV Golf Individual Championship trophy — Jon Rahm won the 2025 LIV Golf Individual Championship

Even though the LIV Golf's figure is less than the PGA Tour's, it has to be noted that there are far fewer events on the newer circuit, with just 14 rather than 41.

Additionally, limited fields remain the order of the day, with all 57 players competing each week winning some prize money.

For the 2026 season, the figure for each individual event increases from $25m to $30m, while all 13 teams will earn some money each week too.

LIV Golf is also introducing a prize pool of $2.3m per event, with that money distributed among the podium finishers of the teams and individual players.

One area where the prize money is reducing is in the season-ending bonus payout. Instead of $30m being shared among the top three in the Individual Championship, that's down to $10m, but the overall sum to be handed out across the year still amounts to a staggering $470m.

DP World Tour - $157.5m

A Rolex Series flag — The Rolex Series helps boost the DP World Tour's overall prize money

The DP World Tour can't get close to either the PGA Tour or LIV Golf for prize money, but it's still the third highest-paying circuit in the game in 2026.

The season will see a minimum of 42 events in 25 countries, with players competing for record overall prize money of $157.5m.

The biggest money can be made on the DP World Tour's elevated Rolex Series events, with $9m available in the first four and $10m in the season-closing DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates' Earth Course.

Other big events include the Open de France, with a payout of $6m, and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which has a $5m purse, with many other tournaments surpassing $2m.

There's also bonus money via the different swing sections of the season, with $200,000 available to the winner in each, while the Race to Dubai also has incredible bonus money.

In 2025, that came to $10m, and it's likely to be similar again.

Asian Tour - $30m

Scott Vincent with the International Series Order of Merit trophy — The Asian Tour's International Series typically offers $2m a tournament

Helped by the elevated International Series events, which launched in 2022 and were backed by LIV Golf, in 2026, the Asian Tour is offering a total prize money payout of $30m for the third year in a row.

While many of the International Series events offer a purse of $2m, by far the biggest tournament of the year is the PIF Saudi International, which will have a payout of $5m.

Korn Ferry Tour - $27m

Christo Lamprecht with the trophy after winning the Pinnacle Bank Championship — Most Korn Ferry Tour events hand $180,000 to the winner

There are 25 events in the schedule for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season, with the majority offering a $1m payout with $180,000 to the winner.

However, that is boosted for the final four events comprising the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, with each having a purse of $1.5m and the winner banking $270,000, bringing the overall figure to $27m.

HotelPlanner Tour - $11m

JC Ritchie with the Rolex Grand Final trophy — The Rolex Grand Final has a purse of $600,000

The DP World Tour’s feeder circuit has 30 events in 2026, and approximately $11m will be distributed among them.

Most tournaments will feature purses ranging between $300,000 and $3750,000, but for the final three events, there's a marked increase, with $500,000 available in both the Hainan Open and Hangzhou Open, before players compete for around $600,000 at the season-closing Rolex Grand Final.

Sunshine Tour - $14.5m

Darren Fichardt at the South African Open — The Sunshine Tour has total prize money of around $14.5m

The Southern and East Africa-based circuit, whose season began last May and runs until late March, will see a total distribution of approximately $14.5m.

That figure is boosted considerably by its DP World Tour co-sanctioned events, including the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which offers $6m.

For many other events, there are far more modest sums on the table, typically around the $125,000 mark.

PGA Tour of Australasia - $8m

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen reacts to winning the Crown Australian Open — The Australian Open is the tour's biggest event

Like the Sunshine Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia season, which began in August, sees its overall prize fund of around $11.4m AUD ($8m USD) boosted by it's co-sanctioned events with the DP World Tour.

Those two tournaments, the BMW Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Open, had a combined purse of $4.5m AUD (around $3.1m), whereas most events are in the $200,000 AUD-$250,000 ($140,000-$275,000) range.

LPGA Tour - $132m

Jeenot Thitikul with a cheque after winning the CME Group Tour Championship in 2025 — There is record prize money available on the LPGA Tour

In November, the biggest circuit in the women's game, the LPGA Tour, announced its 2026 schedule, featuring 33 events and confirming its overall prize fund will be $132m, the largest in its history.

Of that, $11m will be offered in the season-closing CME Group Tour Championship. In 2025, winner Jeeno Thitikul claimed $4m of that total - comparable with the biggest payouts to winners of events in the men's game.

While the overall LPGA Tour season prize money pales in comparison to the biggest circuits in men's golf, it still represents a huge increase from just five years ago, when competitors played for a total of $62m across the season.

LET - $48m

Laura Fuenfstueck with the PIF London Championship trophy — The PIF Global Series sees big money come to the LET

There's a solid prize payout on offer on the main Europe-based women's circuit, too, with a record 40m euros (around $48m) up for grabs in 2026.

That's boosted by its associations with two of the Majors, the Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women's Open, as well as the LPGA Tour co-sanctioned ISPS Handa Scottish Open, which has a $2m purse.

Other big tournaments come via the five PIF Global Series events. That includes the tournament with the largest purse of the season, the PIF Saudi Ladies International. It offers a $5m payout, the same as the men's event.

Epson Tour - $4.7m

An Epson Tour tee marker — The Epson Tour prize money approaches $5m

The 2026 season for the official developmental tour of the LPGA Tour begins in March and runs to October with a total of 19 events.

All of them offer between $200,000 and $400,000, bringing the overall figure to $4.7m.

LET Access Series - $1.25m

Chiara Tamburlini at the Rose Ladies Open — The LET Access Series offers prize money of around $65,000 in most tournaments

At the time of writing, the payouts of three tournaments for the LET Access Series season are yet to be confirmed, but the ones that have feature a total of 858,000 euros in prize money (aorund $1m) suggesting that the overall payout for the season will be around $1.25m.

Most LET Access Series events offer prize money of €50,000 (around $65,000).

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Overall Prize Money Of Main Golf Tours In 2026 - Most To Least
Tour	Prize Money (USD - approx)
PGA Tour	$487.9m
LIV Golf	$470m
DP World Tour	$157.5m
LPGA Tour	$132.0m
LET	$45.0m
Asian Tour	$30.0m
Korn Ferry Tour	$27.0m
Sunshine Tour	$14.5m
Hotel Planner Tour	$11.0m
PGA Tour of Australasia	$8.0m
Epson Tour	$4.7m
LET Access Series	$1.25m

TOPICS

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.