What You Get For Finishing Second At The PGA Championship

While one player will guarantee his place in the history books by lifting the Wanamaker Trophy at the 2025 PGA Championship, there will be another who feels defeat rather more keenly than the others in the field.

The runner-up will understandably have thoughts of what might have been when leaving Quail Hollow, but when the dust settles, there will be several big perks he can take consolation from. Here are the key benefits of finishing second.

Prize Money

At the 2025 PGA Championship, there is a record purse, with players competing for $19m. Naturally, the winner will receive the biggest payout, with prize money of $3.42m, but the runner-up will hardly be out of pocket either, claiming $2.052m.

That’s marginally more than the $1.998m 2024 runner-up Bryson DeChambeau earned and eclipses the prize money Collin Morikawa banked for his victory just five years ago.

World Ranking Points

In all four Majors, the winner receives 100 world ranking points. That's considerably more than any other event, with The Players Championship the next nearest, handing the winner 80 points, and PGA Tour signature events around 65 points.

However, the runner-up at the PGA Championship will also boost his world ranking considerably, accumulating 60 points. That's a benefit that can have big implications down the line, particularly if a player generally relies on world ranking points to qualify for Majors.

Exemptions

Like The Masters, winning the PGA Championship brings a lifetime exemption to the event, and while there’s nowhere near as coveted a reward for finishing runner-up, whoever just misses out won’t need to concern himself with how to make it to the next edition. That's because, as one of the top 15 and ties, a spot is guaranteed for the following year, which in 2026 means a trip to Aronimink Golf Club.

It’s not just the next PGA Championship the runner-up can start making plans for, either. Anyone who finishes in the top four and ties also secures a place at the following year’s Masters.

Season-Long Tour Points

PGA Tour players have one eye on the season-long FedEx Cup standings for the chance to reach its lucrative Playoffs. One of the best ways to boost your position in the standings is to win a Major, which awards 750 points, although finishing runner-up is another great way of doing it, with 400 points awarded. That's just 100 less than the winners of regular PGA Tour events.

For players on the DP World Tour, finishing runner-up at the PGA Championship awards 1,113 Race to Dubai ranking points, more than double the haul handed to the winner of the DP World Tour’s regular Global Swing events.