Colonial has paid big money over the years. And it’s only getting bigger.
Being a PGA Tour player pays well. And the pots are only getting greater.
Whoever wins the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club this week will cash a check worth $1.512 million. Yes, that’s not a typo.
Colonial has its biggest purse in tournament history at $8.4 million, a $900,000 increase from the 2020-21 purses ($7.5 million). To put the prize money in perspective, the first 43 Colonial golf tournaments (1946-89) did not equal the $8.4 million to be awarded this year.
Here’s a 10 more facts about the prize money over the years:
▪ When Ben Hogan won the inaugural event in 1946, he earned $3,000. The total purse was $15,000. There were only two tournaments with greater purses that year.
▪ The first time the champion earned a six-figure check was in 1986. Dan Pohl won $108,000.
▪ The purse reached the $1 million mark in 1989. The winner that year, Ian Baker-Finch, won $180,000.
▪ The first year the champion topped the $1 million mark was 2005. Kenny Perry won $1.008 million that year. The purse was $5.6 million.
▪ The purse dropped during one stretch in the 1970s. The 1974-75 tournaments had a total purse of $250,000 but it dropped to $200,000 from 1976-78. In 1979, the purse jumped to $300,000.
▪ Jordan Spieth has won the most money of any player in Colonial history. The 2016 champion has earned $3.734 million over nine tournaments. He’s made the cut every time.
▪ Zach Johnson, a two-time Colonial champion, is second on the list with $3.574 million. Spieth and Johnson are the only players to top the $3 million mark.
▪ The top-earning player who has never won the tournament is Jim Furyk. He ranks eighth on Colonial’s money list, cashing in $1.985 million over 23 events (18 cuts).
▪ Hogan’s career earnings over 21 tournaments was $47,857. The player who finishes 33rd this year will earn $49,560.
▪ The total prize money over the history of the tournament, including this year, is $165,417,300.