In the history of the four modern men's major championships -- the Masters, PGA Championshhip, US Open and the British Open Championship -- a player has won wire-to-wire, without ties, on 26 separate occasions.

Brooks Koepka was the most recent player to jump on this list, winning the 2019 PGA Championship wire-to-wire with an opening 63 and never facing a tie all the way to taking his fourth major title and becoming the first two-time defending champion of two majors at the same time.

The last wire-to-wire Masters champion was Jordan Spieth in 2015, when he tied Tiger Woods' then-72-hole scoring record on 18-under 270. He led after each and every round, with no ties, making him the fifth wire-to-wire Masters winner.

Martin Kaymer was the last wire-to-wire US Open champion, doing so at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014 on the back of opening 65s. He never looked back and ran away for the win.

Rory McIlroy is the last wire-to-wire Open Championship winner, taking the claret jug at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake).

On other occasions, players have gone a different version of wire-to-wire, having at least a share of the lead after every round. However, some of the major organizations, namely Augusta National and the PGA of America, do not county those wins as truly in this category. Nevertheless, we included the available wins with ties and distinguished them in our list.

Wire-to-wire men's golf major champions

Masters:

• 1934 - Horton Smith
• 1941 - Craig Wood (no ties)
• 1946 - Herman Keiser
• 1960 - Arnold Palmer (no ties)
• 1964 - Arnold Palmer
• 1972 - Jack Nicklaus (no ties)
• 1980 - Seve Ballesteros
• 1976 - Raymond Floyd (no ties)
• 2008 - Trevor Immelman
• 2015 - Jordan Spieth (no ties)
• 2020 - Dustin Johnson
• 2026 - Rory McIlroy

U.S. Open:

• 1903 - Willie Anderson
• 1906 - Alex Smith
• 1914 - Walter Hagen (no ties)
• 1916 - Charles Evans Jr.
• 1921 - Jim Barnes (no ties)
• 1953 - Ben Hogan (no ties)
• 1958 - Tommy Bolt
• 1970 - Tony Jacklin (no ties)
• 1972 - Jack Nicklaus
• 1977 - Hubert Green
• 1980 - Jack Nicklaus
• 1991 - Payne Stewart
• 2000 - Tiger Woods (no ties)
• 2001 - Retief Goosen
• 2002 - Tiger Woods (no ties)
• 2011 - Rory McIlroy (no ties)
• 2014 - Martin Kaymer (no ties)

Open Championship:

• 1899 - Harry Vardon
• 1900 - J.H. Taylor
• 1903 - Harry Vardon
• 1912 - Ted Ray (no ties)
• 1927 - Bobby Jones (no ties)
• 1932 - Gene Sarazen (no ties)
• 1934 - Henry Cotton (no ties)
• 1971 - Lee Trevino
• 1973 - Tom Weiskopf (no ties)
• 1974 - Gary Player
• 2005 - Tiger Woods (no ties)
• 2014 - Rory McIlroy (no ties)

PGA Championship:

• 1964 - Bobby Nichols (no ties)
• 1969 - Raymond Floyd
• 1971 - Jack Nicklaus (no ties)
• 1982 - Raymond Floyd
• 1983 - Hal Sutton (no ties)
• 2000 - Tiger Woods
• 2019 - Brooks Koepka (no ties)

The following players have posted the most wire-to-wire major-championship victories:

• 4 - Tiger Woods
• 3 - Raymond Floyd
• 3 - Rory McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy has won the 2026 Masters, completing one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of the tournament to go from 16 times without winning to taking the next two.

After winning his second green jacket by a shot on 12-under 276, McIlroy raised his arms in the air in celebration. He hugged his long-time caddie Harry Diamond, who McIlroy has stuck by over the years, despite so much criticism of his work.

Then McIlroy went behind the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club and began hugging his family and some of the people closest to him.

McIlroy hugged his daughter, Poppy, as well as his wife, Erica.

He also embraced his mother, Rosaleen, who is rarely at the tournaments McIlroy wins, as well as his father, Gerry, who McIlroy played with heading into the Masters. It's just the second major that Rosaleen has seen her son win in person, following the 2014 Open.

He hugged long-time friends of his who have worked for him over the years, too, as well as several friends on Tour and Ryder Cup teammates like Shane Lowry, who is also from Ireland and has partnered with McIlroy on the PGA Tour.

This is the sixth major Rory McIlroy has won since in his career. He first won the 2011 US Open at Congressional Country Club, took the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, then won the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool and 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. He won the Masters at Augusta National in 2025 and 2026.

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The 2026 Masters final leaderboard is headed by winner Rory McIlroy, who earned the major win at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

McIlroy won the tournament for the second year in a row, winning over Scottie Scheffler by one shot on 12-under 276, as Scheffler shot 68 on Sunday to complete a bogey-free weekend played in 11 under par. McIlroy's closing 71 was good enough to complete a week where he had a share of the lead after every round.

McIlroy is just the fourth player in Masters history to win consecutive Masters green jackets, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to accomplish the feat. In winning his sixth major, McIlroy is tied for 12th all time with six major wins.

Justin Rose, Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Henley finished in a share of third place on 10-under total.

McIlroy won the $4,500,000 winner's share of the $22,500,000 purse.

Masters recap notes

McIlroy earned 100 Official World Golf Ranking points with the win in the 72-hole stroke-play championship, which helps his place in the world ranking.

McIlroy earned 750 FedEx Cup points as a PGA Tour member, with the PGA Tour points offered at the major championship level for this event.

A total of 54 (of 91) players finished the tournament, where a 36-hole cut was made in this event to the top 50 and ties through two rounds.

The 2026 PGA Tour schedule continues next week with the 2026 RBC Heritage in South Carolina.

2026 Masters final leaderboard, results and prize money payouts

Click header to sort; rotate mobile screens for details

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In professional golf, the measure of a player's greatness is most commonly linked with how many majors they win in their career. For male professional golfers specifically, there are four majors the best players in the world seek to win as many times as possible to cement their place in golf lore: The Masters, US Open, British Open Championship and the PGA Championship.

Conceivably, being the golfer with the most career major championship titles makes that golfer the best ever. The golfer with the most career major championship titles is Jack Nicklaus, with 18 majors as defined above. Nicklaus would tell you he's won 20 majors, including his US Amateur titles.

Tiger Woods is second on the all-time list of major winners with 15, last winning at the 2019 Masters Tournament. Woods won three-conseuctive US Amateur titles before turning pro in 1996.

Nicklaus and Woods set an incredible bar for major championship wins, with only one other player boasting at least 10 major wins: Walter Hagen.

Ben Hogan and Gary Player each won nine.

There are six golfers who have ever completed the career Grand Slam, and they've all won at least six majors.

Golfers with most career major championship wins

• 1. Jack Nicklaus -- 18
• 2. Tiger Woods -- 15
• 3. Walter Hagen -- 11
• T4. Ben Hogan -- 9
• T4. Gary Player -- 9
• 6. Tom Watson -- 8
• T7. Gene Sarazen -- 7
• T7. Arnold Palmer -- 7
• T7. Sam Snead -- 7
• T7. Bobby Jones -- 7
• T7. Harry Vardon -- 7
• T12. Lee Trevino -- 6
• T12. Nick Faldo -- 6
• T12. Phil Mickelson -- 6
• T12. Rory McIlroy -- 6

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Justin Rose is the 2013 U.S. Open champion, a regular Ryder Cup team member, a long-standing top-50 player in the world and an all-around great guy. His wife, Kate Phillips, has been along his side for so much of his run to the summit of golf. He looks to finally get his green jacket at the 2026 Masters Tournament after so many close calls at Augusta National.

Justin and Kate Rose have been married since December 2006, and they have been together since around 2000. The couple met when Kate was an assistant at IMG, which was his representation group at the time. Kate was at a lot of Justin's tournaments anyhow. She went to the University of Sussex and is a former high-level gymnast. The couple has two kids together: Leo and Lottie.

Take a look at photos of Justin Rose's wife, Kate.

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Rory McIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll McIlroy, celebrated McIlroy completing the career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters at Augusta National. They were there with their 4-year-old daughter, Poppy.

Now, McIlroy has a chance to become the 4th player to go back-to-back in Masters history at the 2026 Masters and celebrate with his family.

Rory McIlroy first met his now wife, Erica, when she was a PGA of America employee in 2012. She noticed on Singles Sunday at the 2012 Ryder Cup that McIlroy was awfully late for his tee time. She arranged for a police escort to get McIlroy to Medinah, where the Europeans rallied from a record deficit to win their second-straight Ryder Cup.

The pair began dating in fall of 2014, with McIlroy taking Stoll on an Irish adventure in the Aran Islands on New Year's Eve. Then they were engaged in Paris at the end of 2015. They got married in 2017 in Ireland.

They're parents together, with a daughter, Poppy.

McIlroy filed for divorce in 2024 before withdrawing that filing.

See pictures of Rory McIlroy's wife, Erica Stoll.

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In Masters Tournament history dating back to 1934, the oldest Masters winner is Jack Nicklaus.

Nicklaus became the oldest Masters champion in 1986, when he won the green jacket for the sixth time with a final-round 65 that helped him overcome a four-shot 54-hole deficit at the age of 46. Of course, that was the final time Nicklaus won the Masters, though he did finish a remarkable T-6 in 1998.

Mark O'Meara is the oldest first-time Masters champion, doing so in 1998 at the age of 41. He won in his 15th Masters appearance, setting the mark at the time for the most times entered in the Masters before winning it. Since then, Sergio Garcia won for the first time in his 19th appearance in 2017, and Rory McIlroy broke through in 2025 in his 17th appearance.

The oldest major champion in golf history is Phil Mickelson, who won the 2021 PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina at 50 years, 11 months, 7 days.

Previously, the record belonged to Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA Championship at Pecan Valley in Texas at the age of 48 years, 4 months and 18 days.

Three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson can become the oldest Masters winner and the oldest major winner in history if he picks up a fourth green jacket in the remainder of his career at Augusta National.

The same is true for five-time Masters winner Tiger Woods, who is now past the age of 50. Woods won his fifth Masters title in 2019 at the age of 43. Woods was 17 days older in 2019 than Ben Crenshaw was when he won his second Masters title in 1995.

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If the 2026 Masters goes to a playoff, there will be extra holes at Augusta National for the first time since 2025, when Rory McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff.

The Masters playoff format is sudden-death, making it the only major championship decided that way.

The first playoff hole will be No. 18, with the 10th hole becoming the second playoff hole if there are players remaining after the first hole. The players then alternate between the 18th and 10th holes until a champion is crowned.

The Masters has used a sudden-death playoff since 1976, with that first playoff coming in 1979, when Fuzzy Zoeller won. Prior to then, the playoff was 18 holes. Originally, it was 36 holes. The hope is that a sudden-death playoff will result in determining a winner quickly and on Sunday evening, meaning the green jacket ceremony can happen on the grounds of Augusta National while the largest audience in golf is still watching instead of forcing the tournament to a Monday finish and having perhaps a smaller number of patrons on-hand and TV viewers to see the tournament's completion.

Masters Tournament playoffs are rare in the relative history of the tournament. All told, there have been 11 sudden-death playoffs in Masters history. There have been 17 total playoffs, including six played as either 18- or 36-hole matches.

However, recent memory shows playoffs are more frequent. There have been six Masters playoffs in the last 25 years, but there has only been one in the last decade.

Sudden-death playoffs in Masters history

• 2025: Rory McIlroy (3) def. Justin Rose (4) on No. 18
• 2017: Sergio Garcia (3) def. Justin Rose (5) on No. 18
• 2013: Adam Scott (4-3) def. Angel Cabrera (4-4) on No. 10
• 2012: Bubba Watson (4-4) def. Louis Oosthuizen (4-5) on No. 10
• 2009: Angel Cabrera (4-4) def. Kenny Perry (4-5) and Chad Campbell (5) on No. 10
• 2005: Tiger Woods (3) def. Chris DiMarco (4) on No. 18
• 2003: Mike Weir (5 on No. 10) def. Len Mattiace (6) on No. 10
• 1990: Nick Faldo (4-4) def. Raymond Floyd (4-x) on No. 11
• 1989: Nick Faldo (5-3) def. Scott Hoch (5-4) on No. 11
• 1987: Larry Mize (4-3) def. Greg Norman (4-4) and Seve Ballesteros (5) on No. 11
• 1982: Craig Stadler (4) def. Dan Pohl (5) on No. 10
• 1979: Fuzzy Zoeller (4-3) def. Ed Sneed (4-4) and Tom Watson (4-4) on No. 11

Playoffs in Masters history before 1976

• 1970: Billy Casper (69) def. Gene Littler (74)
• 1966: Jack Nicklaus (70) def. Tommy Jacobs (72) and Gay Brewer (78)
• 1962: Arnold Palmer (68) def. Gary Player (71) and Dow Finsterwald (77)
• 1954: Sam Snead (70) def. Ben Hogan (71)
• 1942: Sam Snead (69) def. Byron Nelson (70)
• 1935: Gene Sarazen (144) def. Craig Wood (149)

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The Masters Tournament is arguably the most coveted golf tournament in the world, with the green jacket on the line every year at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

For some of the greats in golf history, winning at Augusta National came easily. Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer won three Masters titles in their first eight appearances, respectively. Scottie Scheffler has two wins in his first six Masters starts.

For some Masters champions, though, their journey to a green jacket is one of pain and toil -- but it's all worth it in the end.

Sergio Garcia (2017) holds the record for the Masters champion who needed the most tournament starts before winning the green jacket, doing so in his 19th appearance. Rory McIlroy (2025) won in his 17th appearance, with the second-longest wait.

Interestingly enough, Justin Rose lost to both of these players in Masters sudden-death playoffs to determine the title. Rose is making his 21st Masters start in 2026.

Jack Nicklaus is the oldest Masters champion, winning at the age of 46 in 1986. That was his 28th appearance in the Masters. There are only three other Masters champions who won a green jacket after their 19th attempt: Gary Player in his 21st appearance in 1978, Ben Crenshaw in his 24th appearance in 1995, Tiger Woods in his 22nd appearance in 2019

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Russell Henley is looking once again to get into the winner's circle on the PGA Tour, looking to win the 2026 Masters Tournament for his next PGA Tour win and win a major championship for the first time in his career.

Henley is married to his wife Teil Duncan, and the pair tied the knot on Oct. 30, 2015, in South Carolina.

Henley is an artist on the golf course, and Duncan is an actual artist. She's a well-known painter in the Charleston art scene. Originally from Columbus, Ga., she doesn't come out to every Tour event.

See pictures of Russell Henley's wife, Teil Duncan.

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Every week on the LPGA Tour and any major professional golf tour in the world, players tie. It's just the nature of tournament golf that 54 or 72 holes is simply not enough to separate every golfer who competes to their own, unique scores.

Each week, more than half the weekend field to make the cut will wind up tied with another golfer for their finishing position. Of course, this naturally creates a little bit of an accounting headache for golfers and pro tours, splitting out money out among those who are tied.

So how does the LPGA Tour, split prize money and points when players are tied?

When players are tied for a single position, the prize money for each of those players is the evenly divided amount of the total money the players would have been awarded had they all finished separately.

Here's an example, compared to how the PGA Tour splits prize money.

If three players on the LPGA Tour finished tied for third place at a tournament, they don't split the third-place prize money. That would be silly, gipping them of money compared to a player who would finish alone in sixth place. Instead, the money the three players tied for third place earn is the total money for third, fourth and fifth place combined together and divided by three. The same is true for any points races.

This way, players get a pay bump for finishing tied for their finishing position relative to the players who finish beneath them, but they don't earn a financial edge compared to finishing alone in a higher position and further separating themselves from the field.

With LPGA Tour prize money payouts set before each tournament, regardless of how many players make the cut, it would seem easy to figure out who gets paid what. However, the LPGA Tour changes the payout percentages to everyone in the field but the winner, based on how many players make the cut. The more players make the cut, the more the total money is diluted.

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Every week on the PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour and any major professional golf tour in the world, players tie. It's just the nature of tournament golf that 54 or 72 holes is simply not enough to separate every golfer who makes the cut into a nice and neat lineup of finishers.

That means, each week, more than half the weekend field to make the cut will wind up tied with another golfer for their finishing position. Of course, this naturally creates a little bit of an accounting headache for golfers and pro tours, splitting out money (and points, like for the FedEx Cup) out among those who are tied.

So how do professional tours, including the PGA Tour, split prize money and points when players are tied?

It's very simple. When players are tied for a single position, the prize money for each of those players is the evenly divided amount of the total money the players would have been awarded had they all finished separately.

Here's an example.

If three players on the PGA Tour finished tied for third place at a tournament, they don't split the third-place prize money. That would be silly, gipping them of money compared to a player who would finish alone in sixth place. Instead, the money the three players tied for third place earn is the total money for third, fourth and fifth place combined together and divided by three. The same is true for FedEx Cup points for PGA Tour members.

This way, players get a pay bump for finishing tied for their finishing position relative to the players who finish beneath them, but they don't earn a financial edge compared to finishing alone in a higher position and further separating themselves from the field.

With PGA Tour prize money payouts set before each tournament, regardless of how many players make the cut, it's seemingly easy to figure out how they money will be divided. However, the PGA Tour adds money to the purse when more than the minimum number of players make the cut, actually enlarging the total purse.

The math is not as easy in major championships, as governing bodies figure out the prize pool based on how many players make the cut.

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Every week on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and DP World Tour, as well as during professional golf's major championships (like the Masters Tournament), the weekend is the most exciting time. Winners are typically crowned on Sundays but not before the field is often cut after the first two rounds.

Once the cut is made, how tee times, pairings and the order of play are determined changes in a significant way.

In the final two rounds, scoring determines everything.

After the first two rounds and a 36-hole cut is made, pairings are based solely on total score through the preceding round. The lowest combined score from the preceding rounds goes out in the final pairing with the next-best (or tied) player. The highest combined score to make the cut winds out going out in the first tee times in weekend rounds.

Following the third round, the pairings are changed again based on total score through three rounds, just as the third-round tee times are determined by total score through two rounds.

In the event of ties heading into either the third or final round, the player who finished their round first goes out last (first in, last out, or FILO). It is beneficial to finish first if you're going to finish in a tie.

In the event a two-tee start is needed to complete weekend-round play, the tee sheet looks like a V of sorts, with the lowest scores going off last off the first tee and the worst scores going off last off the 10th tee. The middle of the field goes off first from both sets of tee boxes.

During the first two rounds of events, players are usually grouped together in twosomes or threesomes based on a somewhat random pairing system. Players with certain status and accomplishments can get preferred tee times -- not really early and not really late -- on the PGA Tour, but players can't pick who they play with in the first two days.

It's a unique system, but it works to identify the best players.

Even on LIV Golf, which has a shotgun start, they send out the players with the best scores through two and three rounds out on the first hole in their third and fourth rounds, giving those players the opportunity to play the course in proper order from hole Nos. 1-18.

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The Masters Tournament is the most famous golf tournament in the world, with the membership of Augusta National Golf Club hosting the invitational event at their club in Georgia.

Each year, the club pays out millions in prize money to the players who compete in their prestigious event. In 2026, the total purse is $22.5 million, with the winner taking home $4.5 million. Even the professional golfers who miss the cut are paid $25,000 for completing two rounds.

With so much money going out to the players, it often leads casual golf fans to wonder how much it costs to enter the Masters Tournament and play in it.

The answer is that it doesn't cost anything to play in the Masters Tournament. The club invites players to compete at their leisure, using published criteria that determines the annual field. However, players do not have to pay to play in the competition.

Augusta National can fund the annual purse through a variety of income streams, including annual sales of tickets, hospitality, merchandise and concessions -- a total that runs well into nine figures annually. The club also has corporate partners who support the tournament. The membership is also among the most successful people in the United States and the world.

In other words, finding the money to pay out the purse isn't an issue.

Even on the PGA Tour, players who are PGA Tour members do not have to pay entry fees to compete in tournaments. That's one of the benefits of membership. The initiation fee to join the PGA Tour is $100, and the annual dues are also $100. The fee to play in open qualifying is $500, although that fee is waived for PGA Tour members.

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Cameron Young has a chance to win the 2026 Masters Tournament for his first-career major title, just a month after winning The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in the biggest tournament that the PGA Tour controls.

Young is now the No. 3 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, and he's getting a lot more attention. But for years, Young has been wearing the Major League Baseball logo on his golf shirts. As his profile has risen, though, more people are taking notice and wondering why the MLB logo is on his gear.

Turns out, Cameron Young can thank his dad, who is a golf pro, for the sponsorship.

His dad was the head pro at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club, a top 30 club in the United States and a top-tier New York club. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is also a member, and the families have gotten to know one another.

Manfred took the Young family out to dinner after Cameron turned pro, and Manfred asked Young after the dinner if he would wear the MLB logo on his gear. Young, who had just started playing on what's now PGA Tour Americas in Canada, said yes, and they've been a sponsor of his ever since.

Young has a variety of sponsors on his shirt and hat, including Mutual of Omaha, Cisco, iCapital and Empower, but the MLB logo draws the most attention.

Major League Baseball has sponsored a variety of players over the years, primarily because of their Advanced Media team, which has been behind their streaming service, MLB.tv. Billy Andrade and Shawn Stefani are among the pros who have worn the MLB logo as part of the sponsorship.

Payne Stewart used to wear NFL logos on his apparel in a sponsorship with the league.

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Every week on the PGA Tour, Tuesdays are typically when we find out about the tee times and groupings for that week's tournament.

Typically, we find out about the groupings, which are usually done in threesomes, for the first two rounds. (At some tournaments, we might only find out about the first round, with the field repairing after each round -- a luxury tournaments with small fields can afford.) Fans are always wondering how certain players seem to keep winding up with each other or how that awesome featured threesome was selected.

As it turns out, there are rules for where PGA Tour players are slotted in their first- and second-round groupings and tee times. It's a merit system based on a player's status on the PGA Tour. Basically, there are four buckets into which a player can fall for the first two rounds.

How PGA Tour tee times, groupings are determined for the first two rounds

The players who get the best tee times and land in featured groups are those who are PGA Tour winners, including major championship winners, The Players Championship and Tour Championship winners, those who have won World Golf Championships and those who have won official PGA Tour events in the last two seasons. PGA Tour life members -- those with at least 20 wins -- fall in this bucket, too. Also, players in the top 25 of the career PGA Tour money list. So, too, do players who sit in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking, whether they're a PGA Tour member or not. After the US Open in June, players in the current top 20 in FedEx Cup points get in this group, too.

The next bucket is a subset of the first bucket, reserved for major winners, The Players winners and Tour Championship winners who did so at least five years prior to the current date. These players have to have competed in at least five PGA Tour events or a combined 10 PGA Tour, Web.com Tour and PGA Tour Champions events in the last year. This is also true for official tournament winners of official PGA Tour events who no longer fit in this bucket. Basically, you've proven yourself but haven't been in form for a while.

The third bucket is for players who finished in the top 125 in the prior season's FedEx Cup list, either as a member or non-member. Also eligible are players who have made at least 50 official-money PGA Tour cuts in their career and have competed in at least five PGA Tour events or a combined 10 PGA Tour, Web.com Tour and PGA Tour Champions events in the last year. Players ranked 21st through 50th in the Official World Golf Ranking, including non-members, also fall in this bucket.

The final bucket is everyone else, and they get the worst tee times.

Obviously the PGA Tour has created an incentive for players to improve their tee times if they win or have a great first half of the season. Players in the final bucket can move up to the third bucket if they reach a certain standing on the FedEx Cup points list through the Masters (top 60) and the US Open (top 100).

In the event there aren't enough players to round out each group for a tournament, players in the second bucket get bumped into the first based on their prior season finish in the FedEx Cup. Under that scenario, players can also move from the fourth bucket into the third bucket based on current season FedEx Cup points.

Players are then typically randomly placed together via draw (though featured groups are sometimes hand-picked with a wink and a nod), then slotted into tee times available for those buckets of players. If there is a two-tee start, each threesome will have a morning tee time and an afternoon tee time over the first two days. They will alternate starting holes each time, typically the first and 10th holes.

How PGA Tour tee times, groupings determined for third and final rounds

After the first two rounds and a 36-hole cut is made, the PGA Tour then determines pairings based solely on score through the preceding round. The lowest combined score from the preceding rounds goes out in the final pairing with the next-best (or tied) player. In the event of ties, the player who finished their round first goes out last (first in, last out, or FILO).

In the event a two-tee start is needed to complete weekend-round play, the tee sheet looks like a V of sorts, with the lowest scores going off last off the first tee and the worst scores going off last off the 10th tee. The middle of the field goes off first from both sets of tee boxes.

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On Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, the 2026 Masters will be decided in the first major of the year on the 2026 PGA Tour schedule.

The winner's share of Masters Tournament purse is a lot of money, and the first-place payout is commensurate with winning the biggest event in the world of golf.

For 2026 Masters results and payout, see our final leaderboard

The 2026 Masters purse is $22.5 million, which $1,500,000 higher than in 2025.

How much money does the 2026 Masters winner get?

The Masters now pays 20 percent of the total purse to the winner, so the 2026 Masters winner's share is $4,500,000 as the first-place payout.

Rory McIlroy won $4,200,000 in 2025 in winning his first green jacket and completing the career Grand Slam.

Scottie Scheffler won $3,600,000 in 2024 in winning a second Masters title.

Jon Rahm won $3,240,000 as the 2023 Masters winner, marking his first win in the event and second major title.

The year prior, Scottie Scheffler won $2,700,000 as the 2022 Masters winner's share in winning the event for his first Masters title.

In this event, every player finishing the event earns official prize money, with the last-place finishing professional earning $51,300. Every player making the cut also earns FedEx Cup points, with the winner receiving 750 points. The winner receives 100 Official World Golf Ranking points.

The biggest purse in professional golf belongs to the Tour Championship, which has a single-event purse of $40 million since returning to an official-money event in 2025.

The Players, whose purse is currently at $25 million, has the second-highest purse. The Masters has the highest purse among the four men's major championships, with the US Open second at $21.5 million.

The first two FedEx Cup playoff events and nine PGA Tour Signature events are tied for second best with a $20 million purse each.

The tournament with the highest first-place payout in all of professional golf the Tour Championship, whose 2026 champion will win $10,000,000, making it the biggest first-place payout in all of golf.

The three player-hosted Signature events -- The Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament -- all offer $4 million first-place prizes to the champions.

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The biggest first-place payouts in professional golf have long come in major tournaments or events just shy of major status, and they typically came from events that also had the biggest purses and the largest payouts in the sport.

The biggest single first-place payout in a tournament is now the Tour Championship, with the event returning to an official-money tournament in 2025, boasting a $40 million purse for the 30-player field at East Lake in Atlanta. The winner takes home $10 million.

The second-biggest winner's share for a tournament purse is $4.5 million, which goes to the winner of the PGA Tour's The Players Championship and the Masters. The Masters pays 20 percent of its $22.5 million purse to the winner, while The Players pays the standard 18 percent winner's share on the PGA Tour.

Changes made to the DP World Tour schedule in 2019 gave them a temporary claim as the largest first-place prize money, with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai giving the winner $3 million from an $8 million total purse, with the remaining 49 players competing for the $5 million remaining as though it were its own tournament. That is still true, with the remaining field competing for a $7 million purse. However, these paydays have since been dwarfed.

Each LIV Golf event features a $20 million individual purse for its 57-player field, offering $4 million to the winner.

Most of the PGA Tour's designated events with a $20 million purse pay $3.6 million to the winner, though three -- The Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament -- pay $4 million to the winner.

The Masters Tournament has the largest purse in major championship golf, increasing its purse in 2026 from $21 million to $22.5 million, with $4.5 million going to the green jacket winner.

The PGA Championship purse is now $19 million, while the US Open is $21.5 million and the Briish Open Championship is $17 million.

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The 2026 Masters purse is $22.5 million, with the winner's share coming in at $4,500,000 -- based on a new 20 percent payout according to the Masters prize money distribution chart.

The Masters purse was formally announced on Saturday of tournament week, after the 36-hole cut was made to the top 50 players and ties through two rounds. The purse was increased by $1.5 million in 2026 after a $1 million increase in 2025. The winner's share was increased in 2025 from 18 percent of the purse to 20 percent.

For 2026 Masters results and payout, see our final leaderboard

The 2026 Masters field is headed by defending champion Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Sam Burns and Brooks Koepka.

The event is in Augusta, Ga., with Augusta National Golf Club proving an incredible host to the game's biggest championship.

The Masters is one of the smallest fields on the PGA Tour to have a 36-hole cut. It has the smallest cut among the majors in terms of field size and total players to make the cut. The top 50 and ties make the Masters 36-hole cut, meaning players who make the cut make a little more money as a share of the purse compared to normal PGA Tour events. Every player after 50th place earns prize money starting at approximately $28,290 for 51st place and going down to complete the weekend field.

Those who miss the cut still get $25,000, which is an increase of $15,000 per player. Amateurs are not paid.

How the Masters purse compares to other majors

The total purse was increased $3,000,000 from 2022 to 2023, making it tops among the majors. In 2025, that number increased again.

The purse is behind The Players Championship purse, which is $25 million for 2026 and the event's move to March.

All prize money is subject to the state of Georgia's taxes, which peak at 6 percent for the top-earning rate of 6 percent if you make more than $10,000 in taxable income per year.

What else is on the line: FedEx Cup points, OWGR points, exemptions

Beyond money, there are important points, perks and benefits on the line for the field -- in particular, the tournament winner.

The winner of this event will get 750 FedEx Cup points.

The winner gets 100 Official World Golf Ranking points, with all four majors offering the maximum points for any tournament in men's golf.

Winning comes with other big benefits, including a five-plus season exemption on the PGA Tour, as well berths into the Masters for life and spots in the other three majors for the next five years.

2026 Masters purse, winner's share, prize money payout

For 2026 Masters results and payout, see our final leaderboard

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The 2026 JM Eagle LA Championship field is set with the passing of the typical Friday entry deadline. The LPGA Tour field this week is set for this event, played at El Caballero Country Club in Los Angeles, Califonia, from April 16-19, 2026.

The JM Eagle LA Championship field is headlined by the likes of Hyo Joo Kim, Hannah Green, Miyu Yamashita, Minjee Lee, Sei Young Kim and more.

This is set to be a 120-player field is played out over four days, with this event marking the LPGA's final event before the first major championship of the year, The Chevron Championship.

The tournament is being played in its originally intended slot, with the 2026 LPGA Tour schedule returning to Los Angeles.

The week-of alternate list will be used to replace any players who withdraw ahead of the tournament, with Bianca Pagdanganan and Bronte Law being the first two names on the list.

There are spots that are to be decided via open qualifying on Monday.

The field will be playing for a $3.75 million purse, with 31 of the top 50 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Ranking among the top contenders.

2026 JM Eagle LA Championship field

Top 50 players in 2026 JM Eagle LA Championship field

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