The evolution of Masters winning pay cheques is insane!

Charting the rise of Augusta-winning pay cheques from 1934 to 2017.

04 Apr 2017

the evolution of masters winning pay cheques is insane

Golf may be an expensive sport to play in 2017, but if you become any good at it you'll be rewarded in bucket loads. None more so than at the Masters this week, where the man slipping on the iconic Green Jacket will also receive a cheque for a cool $1.8 million.

The winner of the Masters has been playing for $1.8 million ever since Jordan Spieth won in 2015, and the winner first broke the £1 million barrier when Tiger Woods clinched the second of his four Masters titles in 2001.

Now we all know prize money has inflated dramatically down the years, but the list below showcasing selected Masters-winning pay cheques from its introduction in 1934 right through to the present day remains interesting nonetheless.

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On the grand scale of things, you can now finish 50th and still walk away with $200 more than 1970 champion Billy Casper, or 34th and pick up $1,500 more than Seve Ballesteros in 1980.

Charting the rise of winning pay cheques at Augusta and the only dip came in 1950 when Jimmy Demaret won $350 less than Sam Snead the year previous.

Let's take a closer look at how well Masters champions have done in the pocket over the years...

Horton Smith, 1934 & 1936 winner; Byron Nelson, 1937 & 1942; Henry Picard, 1938; Jimmy Demaret, 1940; Craig Wood, 1941; Gene Sarazen, 1935; and Herman Keiser, 1946 (Photo: Getty Images)

SELECTED MASTERS WINNERS

1934: Billy Casper - $1,500
1942: Byron Nelson - $1,500
1946: Herman Keiser - $2,500
1949: Sam Snead - $2,750
1950: Jimmy Demaret - $2,400
1951: Ben Hogan - $3,000

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Arnold Palmer is presented with a championship plaque from Bobby Jones after winning the first of his four career Masters titles in 1958 (Photo: Getty Images)

1958: Arnold Palmer - $11,250
1960: Arnold Palmer - $17,500
1970: Billy Casper - $25,000
1975: Jack Nicklaus - $40,000
1979: Fuzzy Zoeller - $50,000

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Seve Ballesteros receives the Green Jacket from Fuzzy Zoeller at the 1980 Masters (Photo: Getty Images)

1980: Seve Ballesteros - $55,000
1986: Jack Nicklaus - $144,000
1990: Nick Faldo - $225,000
1996: Nick Faldo - $450,000
1997: Tiger Woods - $486,000