20 players were forced to return home disappointed after last week’s St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind. Thanks to the tournament’s no-cut format, all of them still took home some money. Now the tour’s biggest names turn to the BMW Championship, where a $20 million purse and a shot at the Tour Championship are on the line. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, fresh off his win at TPC Southwind, arrives with another chance to add to his season haul.
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Fifty top players. Another $20 million up for grabs. And only 30 will make it to the Tour Championship. For now, though, the focus remains on the hefty payouts awaiting the field at Bellerive Golf Course. With J.J. Spaun holding a fantastic 7-under lead at the time of writing, he could be the one to pocket the lion’s share of the purse. But how much is it?
| Position | Prize Money |
| Winner | $3.6 million |
| 2 | $2.16 million |
| 3 | $1.36 million |
| 4 | $990,000 |
| 5 | $830,000 |
| 6 | $750,000 |
| 7 | $695,000 |
| 8 | $640,000 |
| 9 | $600,000 |
| 10 | $560,000 |
| 11 | $520,000 |
| 12 | $480,000 |
| 13 | $441,000 |
| 14 | $402,000 |
| 15 | $382,000 |
| 16 | $362,000 |
| 17 | $342,000 |
| 18 | $322,000 |
| 19 | $302,000 |
| 20 | $282,000 |
| 21 | $262,000 |
| 22 | $245,000 |
| 23 | $229,000 |
| 24 | $213,000 |
| 25 | $197,000 |
| 26 | $181,000 |
| 27 | $174,000 |
| 28 | $167,000 |
| 29 | $160,000 |
| 30 | $153,000 |
| 31 | $146,000 |
| 32 | $139,000 |
| 33 | $132,000 |
| 34 | $127,000 |
| 35 | $122,000 |
| 36 | $117,000 |
| 37 | $112,000 |
| 38 | $108,000 |
| 39 | $104,000 |
| 40 | $100,000 |
| 41 | $96,000 |
| 42 | $92,000 |
| 43 | $88,000 |
| 44 | $84,000 |
| 45 | $80,000 |
| 46 | $76,000 |
| 47 | $72,000 |
| 48 | $70,000 |
| 49 | $68,000 |
| 50 | $66,000 |
For the last four years, the tournament’s purse has remained the same. But back in 2022, it was only $15 million, with the winner taking home $2.70 million. That was still an increase from 2021, when Patrick Cantlay earned $1.71 million from an overall prize pool of $9.5 million.
Besides the money, the BMW Championship winner receives 750 FedEx Cup points, meaning there could be plenty of movement in the standings throughout the week. Scheffler, however, will remain untouchable thanks to his enormous lead in the 2026 season.
In any case, a trophy is obviously up for grabs, but the winner will also receive a multi-year PGA Tour exemption, along with entries into major championships and other key events the following season. More importantly, the top 30 finishers will advance to next week’s season finale.
And there’s even better news for players.
Players are set to get massive bonuses after the BMW Championship
Sunday’s final round will determine the season-long FedEx Cup standings, triggering nearly $100 million in bonus payouts. Under recent changes to the FedEx Cup structure, the PGA Tour now distributes its biggest season-long bonuses after the BMW Championship, rather than waiting until the Tour Championship.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has already secured the biggest prize, locking up the No. 1 spot and a $23 million bonus after his victory at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship. While Scheffler’s position is settled, the rest of the standings can still change dramatically at the BMW.
| FedEx Cup position | Upfront bonus | Deferred bonus | Total bonus |
| 1 | $22M | $1M | $23M |
| 2 | $12M | $1M | $13M |
| 3 | $7M | $1M | $8M |
| 4 | $5.5M | $1M | $6.5M |
| 5 | $4.4M | $1M | $5.4M |
| 6 | $3.4M | $900K | $4.3M |
| 7 | $2.5M | $800K | $3.3M |
| 8 | $1.7M | $700K | $2.4M |
| 9 | $1.05M | $600K | $1.65M |
| 10 | $760K | $550K | $1.31M |
| 11 | $485K | $500K | $985K |
| 12 | $410K | $475K | $885K |
| 13 | $360K | $450K | $810K |
| 14 | $320K | $435K | $755K |
| 15 | $290K | $420K | $710K |
| 16 | $285K | $405K | $690K |
| 17 | $280K | $390K | $670K |
| 18 | $275K | $375K | $650K |
| 19 | $270K | $360K | $630K |
| 20 | $265K | $345K | $610K |
| 21 | $260K | $330K | $590K |
| 22 | $255K | $320K | $575K |
| 23 | $250K | $310K | $560K |
| 24 | $245K | $300K | $545K |
| 25 | $240K | $290K | $530K |
| 26 | $235K | $280K | $515K |
| 27 | $230K | $270K | $500K |
| 28 | $225K | $260K | $485K |
| 29 | $220K | $250K | $470K |
| 30 | $215K | $245K | $460K |
| 31–40 | $75K | 244K–235K | 319K–310K |
| 41–50 | $50K | 234K–225K | 284K–275K |
| 51–55 | — | — | $195K |
| 56–60 | — | — | $185K |
| 61–65 | — | — | $180K |
| 66–70 | — | — | $175K |
| 71–85 | — | — | $145K |
| 86–100 | — | — | $140K |
| 101–125 | — | — | $100K |
Money aside, the BMW Championship is the squeeze point of the playoffs. The field goes from 70 at the St. Jude down to 50 here, and only 30 make it out to East Lake. Miss that cut and the season is over, full stop, with no way back into contention.
There’s also the small matter of seeding. Players don’t start the Tour Championship even. The FedEx Cup standings set the tee times, and the No. 1 seed tees off at 10-under while everyone else starts further back. A good week at Bellerive can buy a real head start at East Lake; a bad one leaves a player playing catch-up from day one, even if they scrape into the top 30. Bellerive itself has hosted a U.S. Open and two PGA Championships, so the course has been tested plenty before.
That being said, the great news is nobody is going home empty-handed after this week’s BMW Championship. But the 30 players advancing to the season finale can expect an even bigger reward, with the Tour Championship carrying a total prize pool of $40 million.