Moneyball: Scheffler on course to smash all previous money records

The Masters is one of the few weeks where prize money isn’t really talked about, but that doesn’t mean it’s not doled out in handsome fashion. The record books will show that Scottie Scheffler won by four strokes, collected his second Green Jacket, furthered the gap at the top of the world rankings and became just the second player to win multiple Masters titles coming into the event as world number one.

But he also gets a cool $3.6 million for his troubles, taking his season’s earnings over the $15 million mark, putting him on course for another record haul after his $22 million total during the 2023 season.

Less than a year after turning pro and making his first major start, Ludvig Aberg takes the consolation prize of $2.16 million for finishing runner up, while Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Tommy Fleetwood, all of whom finished tied for third, each take home just over $1 million.

Rory McIlroy’s $175,500 will be no consolation as he sees another Career Grand Slam attempt come up well short, while Shane Lowry, who was also quite disappointed with his week’s work, gets $72,000 for finishing tied 43rd.

Tiger Woods’ return to major championship action saw the 15-time major champion make history by becoming the first player to make the cut in 24 consecutive Masters appearances, but he finished last among the 60-strong final field, earning $39,600, but that’s $39,600 more than his final-round playing partner Neil Shipley takes home, though the 23-year-old, in addition to getting to play with Tiger Woods, got to appear in the Butler Cabin and receive low amateur honours – something that is worth considerably more than the $46,800 that Adam Hadwin got for finishing on the same score.

One of the more interesting angles concerned Tommy Fleetwood and his temporary caddie, Augusta National’s former caddie master, 70-year-old Jessie ‘Gray’ Moore. With Fleetwood’s regular looper Ian Finnis, the distinctive 6′ 6″ giant, sidelined through illness, Fleetwood enlisted the now retired Moore who spent 30 of his working years on the grounds at the Georgian club, and helped guide the Englishman to his seven-figure payout.

Some years back, Matt Kuchar famously enlisted a local caddie at the Mayakoba Classic, and despite going on to win over $1.3 million, paid David Giral ‘El Tucan’ Ortiz a total of $5,000 for the week’s work where the standard rate would see a regular caddie bag $130,000 and change.

How much of Fleetwood’s winnings Moore sees is not yet known, but given Fleetwood’s good guy image and the fact that his namesake, an American pro who played a single European Tour event in 1989, once had the $154,000 earned by the Englishman at the Open Championship lodged to his bank account in error without the intended recipient even noticing, suggests that Fleetwood may be more inclined to give Moore the traditional 8% for a top-10 finish.