Who will take away the Wanamaker Trophy from Xander Schauffele? The world No. 3 might not be in contention to defend his title, but quite a few golfers are fighting for the top spot. The first couple of days saw Jhonattan Vegas dominate the course. His first-round score of 7-under was enough to keep him safe alone at the top going into the weekend. But the Venezuelan added another stroke on Friday to maintain a two-stroke lead against the field. Si Woo Kim and Max Homa also rose the rankings with a 7-under par 64 each to finish at T2 and T5, respectively. But at the end of the third round, Scottie Scheffler has jumped up to the top with a convincing lead.

While the major win will be everyone’s top priority, they will also be eager to earn the biggest paycheck the tournament has to offer. But even if they don’t win, what will each of the 74 positions on the leaderboard earn from the huge purse of the 2025 PGA Championship?

2025 PGA Championship: Big bills to bank

2024 at Valhalla was about a lot more than just the paycheck Xander Schauffele received for winning the Wanamaker Trophy. After 9 years of struggle, coming close to winning majors, Schauffele had finally won his first in the 2024 PGA Championship. Beyond lifting the iconic Trophy, Schauffele did receive a $3.33 million paycheck. That was his cut from the $18.5 million prize money of the major. But, just as we have seen in the last few years, the purse for the majors has been gradually increasing. In 2021, it went from $11 million to $12 million. It jumped up to $17.5 million in 2023 for Brooks Koepka‘s win. Last year, the PGA of America added another million to the field reward. The latest report confirms that the 2025 edition of the tournament will be played for $19 million.

Bob Haring confirmed the relayed news through his tweet a few hours ago. He wrote, “PGA announced purse increase of $500,000 to $19 million with $3.42 million going to the winner,” giving a hint at what the third-round leader, Scottie Scheffler, might win if he continues his run on Sunday.

Let’s take a look at what everyone else who made the cut might make.

As you can see, the prize money has been dispersed to 74 players. While the 2025 PGA Championship originally had planned a cut at 70, ties from 68 and beyond took the weekend field to 74. Hence, there won’t be further changes in the paychecks for each position unless there are ties within the available field.

With the penultimate round completed, let’s see who is in line to challenge Scottie Scheffler for the maximum from the $19 million pot.

Potential challengers for Scottie Scheffler at Quail Hollow

After a miserable first round, tournament favorite Rory McIlroy has failed to recover to compete for the top spot on the leaderboard. However, Bryson DeChambeau is making a run to steal the Wanamaker Trophy from Scottie Scheffler on Sunday. DeChambeau ended the third round with a total of 5 under par. However, in a surprising turn of events, Jon Rahm‘s outstanding push to the top has helped him jump up 22 spots to T5.

However, the closest golfer to Scheffler at the end of the delayed third round is Alex Noren. He had the second-best score for the round, finishing at 5-under par 66 for the day to push himself to -8. However, Scottie Scheffler is sitting safely at the top spot after a flurry of birdies and an eagle. He has a 3-stroke lead against Noren and everyone else on the field.

Do you think Scheffler will end up winning the $3.42 million paycheck on Sunday, or will someone else take the spotlight at the end of the 2025 PGA Championship?