Moneyball – Kirk cashes in at season-starting PGA Tour ‘Signature Event’

$514,285.71, that’s how much Chris Kirk has averaged in earnings per day in 2024.

It’s literally impossible for him to keep that ratio up, of course, but with victory in the big-money PGA Tour season opener, his $3.6 million first prize cheque was the perfect possible start to the new year.

Holding off the likes of Jordan Spieth, Sahith Theegala and Scottie Scheffler, the now six-time PGA Tour winner has guaranteed his playing rights through 2026 and will certainly feature in all four major championships this year.

For context, the Dubai Invitational, the first DP World Tour event of 2024 which features Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Nicolai Hojgaard and Adrian Meronk among others, has a total prize pool of $2.5 million.

Theegala, solo second in The Sentry at 28-under-par, one stroke back, can console himself with earnings in excess of $2.1 million, third-placed Spieth earned more than $1.3 million, and Byeong Hun An who finished fourth was just under the seven-figure mark with $975,000.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, who broke new ground when he surpassed the $21 million mark in 2023, is back on the gravy train, though his five-way tie for fifth and the accompanying $690k winnings have actually brought down his average earnings per tournament played since the start of last year.

The Sentry payouts in full are listed below.

1. Chris Kirk: $3,600,000
2. Sahith Theegala: $2,160,000
3. Jordan Spieth: $1,360,000
4. Byeong Hun An: $975,000
T5. Sungjae Im, Brian Harman, J.T. Poston, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler: $690,500
T10. Jason Day, Xander Schauffele: $530,000
T12. Sepp Straka, Patrick Cantlay: $450,000
T14. Adam Hadwin, Eric Cole, Patrick Rodgers, Tyrrell Hatton, Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Harris English, Akshay Bhatia: $320,250
T22. Erik van Rooyen, Luke List, Viktor Hovland: $220,000
T25. Taylor Moore, Si Woo Kim, Nico Echavarria, Mackenzie Hughes: $170,750
T29. Lucas Glover, Kurt Kitayama, Adam Schenk, Wyndham Clark: $140,500
T33. Adam Svensson, Sam Burns, Brendon Todd, Corey Conners, Cameron Young: $113,000
T38. Tony Finau, Tom Hoge: $96,000
T40. Matt Wallace, Andrew Putnam, Justin Rose: $86,000
T43. Emiliano Grillo, Denny McCarthy: $76,000
T45. Keegan Bradley, Tom Kim: $68,000
T47. Tommy Fleetwood, Nick Hardy, Ludvig Aberg: $62,000
T50. Camilo Villegas, Seamus Power: $57,500
T52. Nick Taylor, Russell Henley, Cam Davis, Davis Riley: $54,500
56. Rickie Fowler: $52,000
57. Lee Hodges: $51,000
58. Hideki Matsuyama: $50,500
59. Vincent Norrman: $50,000