The 2026 BMW Championship purse is $20 million, with $3,600,000 going to the winner — the PGA Tour’s standard 18 percent share — at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, August 20-23. It’s the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and because the 50-player field has no cut, every golfer who tees it up leaves with a check: last place is guaranteed $66,000.
The money is only part of the haul. The champion collects 750 FedEx Cup points — the same as a major — plus 57.5 Official World Golf Ranking points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption, and invitations to the Masters, PGA Championship, and The Players. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, fresh off an eight-shot demolition at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, banked exactly this $3.6 million figure a year ago at Caves Valley.
The chart below has the purse structure, what the winner receives beyond the check, and how the BMW’s money has grown. Take a look, then we’ll get into where this purse ranks.
GOLF MONEY
BMW Championship Purse 2026
A $20 million pot, a $3.6 million winner’s check, and no one leaves empty-handed
LAST PLACE
$66,000
No cut, all 50 paid
POINTS
750
FedEx Cup, to the winner
The 2026 purse at a glance
The key numbers at Bellerive
| Detail | 2026 BMW Championship |
|---|
| Total purse | $20,000,000 |
| Winner’s share | $3,600,000 (18% of the purse) |
| Runner-up | $2,160,000 |
| Last place (50th) | $66,000 — guaranteed, since there’s no cut |
| Field | Top 50 in FedEx Cup points; all play 72 holes |
| Venue / dates | Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis — Aug. 20-23, 2026 |
| FedEx Cup points to the winner | 750 — equal to a major championship |
Per the PGA Tour’s official prize money distribution.
Beyond the check
What winning is actually worth
| What the winner gets beyond the money | Detail |
|---|
| FedEx Cup position | 750 points all but locks a top seed at East Lake the following week |
| World ranking | 57.5 OWGR points, adjusted to field strength |
| Exemptions | Two-year PGA Tour exemption, plus spots in the Masters, PGA Championship, and The Players |
| Tour Championship | A guaranteed top-30 finish in points — the winner cannot miss East Lake |
| History | A name on a trophy lineage that runs through the Western Open back to 1899 |
How the purse has grown
From $7 million to $20 million
| Year(s) | BMW Championship purse | Winner’s share |
|---|
| 2007-2011 | $7,000,000 – $8,000,000 | $1,260,000 – $1,440,000 |
| 2012-2016 | $8,000,000 – $8,500,000 | $1,440,000 – $1,530,000 |
| 2017-2021 | $9,000,000 – $9,500,000 | $1,620,000 – $1,710,000 |
| 2022 | $15,000,000 | $2,700,000 |
| 2023-2026 | $20,000,000 | $3,600,000 |
PURSE FACTS
The LIV effect in one row
The purse sat near $9.5 million as recently as 2021, jumped to $15 million in 2022, and hit $20 million in 2023 — the playoff-era arms race in a single table.
18 percent is the rule
Nearly every standard PGA Tour event pays the winner 18% of the purse; the BMW’s $3.6 million is the formula, not a special number.
It’s not the biggest check of the month
The Tour Championship the following week carries a $40 million pot with $10 million to the FedEx Cup champion — the BMW is the doorway, East Lake is the vault.
The stakes and the money at the 2026 BMW Championship.
Where the BMW’s Money Ranks
Among the PGA Tour’s 2026 events, the BMW’s $20 million purse sits in the top tier alongside the signature events and the other playoff legs — bigger than every major except the U.S. Open’s neighborhood, and behind only the Tour Championship’s bonus-fueled $40 million finale. The structural difference is certainty: at a major, missing the cut pays nothing; at Bellerive, the man who finishes dead last all four days makes more than the median American household earns in a year. That guarantee, times 50 players, is why qualifying for the BMW — not winning it — is the season goal for most of the Tour.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 BMW Championship pays $20 million total and $3.6 million to the winner, with all 50 players guaranteed at least $66,000 and the champion adding 750 points, a two-year exemption, and major invitations. For every position’s exact check, see our full BMW Championship payout breakdown; for why everyone gets paid, does the BMW have a cut?; and for what this week actually decides, how many advance to the Tour Championship.
