Presidents Cup: Is there prize money for the players?

The short answer is: no traditional prize money, but a fixed payment. At the 2026 event in Medinah, players, captains, and assistant captains each received $250,000—regardless of which team won.

No Victory Bonus at the Presidents Cup, but a Quarter of a Million

There is no prize money at the Presidents Cup that is split among the teams. Even a victory does not earn the players an additional bonus. Instead, the PGA Tour pays all participants a flat fee of equal amount.

Each side consists of twelve players, one captain, and four assistant captains. That brings the total to 17 people per team. At $250,000 per person, that amounts to $4.25 million per team and a total of $8.5 million for the 2026 tournament.

This model has been in effect since 2022. The Presidents Cup in Medinah was thus the third consecutive edition in which participants received this payment. According to available reports, total payouts since the model’s introduction have amounted to $25.5 million.

Do players receive prize money at the Ryder Cup? Find out here.

What is the payment intended for?

The lump-sum payment is no longer earmarked for a specific purpose. Recipients can decide for themselves whether to use the money for donations, their foundations, travel and lodging expenses, or other purposes. They are not required to publicly disclose how they use it.

According to Golfweek, the PGA Tour justified the change as an adjustment to its overall compensation program. The payouts were adapted to the “changing landscape of philanthropy” so that players and captains could support their foundations or personal charitable causes with greater flexibility.

Some participants continue to channel funds to charitable causes. For example, Jason Day is said to have pledged his entire lump-sum payment to the Brighter Days Foundation. According to reports, Tony Finau supported education and literacy projects, while Stewart Cink funded health and church-related causes through his family foundation.

An Incredible Comeback: How the 2026 Presidents Cup Unfolded.

From the charity model to a freely available lump sum

Before the introduction of the personal lump-sum payment in 2022, participants did not receive any money that they could keep for themselves or use as they pleased. The amounts allocated to them had to go to nonprofit organizations. From 2011 to 2019, this amounted to $150,000 per person.

This has changed the financial structure of the competition—but not its charitable mission, as the PGA Tour emphasizes. Since 1994, the Presidents Cup is said to have raised more than $56 million for charitable causes. Since 2022, the Tour has also guaranteed at least $1 million for charitable projects in the respective host region.

Nevertheless, the question of whether players should be paid for competing in a team event remains a topic of debate. At the 2024 Presidents Cup, Xander Schauffele described the question as “a hand grenade,” according to a report—an allusion to its explosiveness. Max Homa reportedly said he could understand both sides of the debate.

Where will the next Presidents Cups take place?

In 2028, the Presidents Cup will be held at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne. This marks the competition’s return to Australia’s Sandbelt, though not to Royal Melbourne. Two years later, in 2030, the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri, is set to host the event.