The Players Championship has long been considered the unofficial ‘fifth Major Championship’ in the men’s game.
Many of the game’s best-ever players have won this prestigious event, including the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd, Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus. Claim this trophy and your name will appear alongside some true greats of the game.
Of course, winning a tournament of this stature also has a number of other perks including prize money, Major exemptions, world ranking points and much more. Here’s what awaits the winner of the 2025 Players Championship...
1. Prize Money
The players competing in the 2025 Players Championship can look forward to a lucrative payday should they put in a decent week, for the purse stands at an eye-watering $25 million - the largest for a single golf tournament.
The winner will receive a whopping $4.5 million, a sum that Scottie Scheffler took home last year.
That number is larger than the first prize in all four men's Majors last year as well as all eight PGA Tour Signature Events.
2. The Trophy
Of course, it’s the trophy that really matters – and it must be said, the current Players Championship trophy is a real beauty.
Crafted by Tiffany & Co. since 2019, the sterling silver and 24k gold vermeil Players Championship trophy stands 17 inches tall and weighs approximately eight pounds.
The golfer pictured is standing on the island-green 17th and is a mix of the 38 different winners of The Players at the time of design from Jack Nicklaus in 1974 to Webb Simpson in 2018. It was made using a process of 'electroforming' and 3D-printing.
It inspired the infamous 'gold man' animated clips that were a hit on social media, with the gold trophy brought to life and seen hitting various famous shots at TPC Sawgrass.
3. FedExCup Points
The winner of the Players Championship will receive 750 FedExCup points, which will put them in a very handy position early on in the season-long race.
This is the same number of points players receive for winning a Major Championship.
Prior to entering the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August, PGA Tour events carry between 300 and 750 FedExCup points. In other words, other than the Playoff events, no tournament offers more than 750 points.
4. World ranking points
The Players Championship features a super-strong field and with that comes huge world ranking points.
The champion earns a whopping 80 OWGR points, which is the second-highest number you can win.
Major winners earn 100 points, while PGA Tour Signature Events give around 70 points to the winner. Standard PGA Tour events usually offer between 20-50 points depending on field strength.
5. Players Championship Exemption
Winning at TPC Sawgrass will open up doors for a good while.
The winner this week will receive a five-year exemption into the tournament, a nice perk should someone find that they lose form during that period.
6. PGA Tour Card
One of the biggest benefits of winning the Players Championship is peace of mind – not just the fact that you can afford to pay off the mortgage; the winner can also relax a little knowing that their PGA Tour card is secured for five years.
Again, this is a huge perk that means a player can afford to lose a bit of form without the worry of having to go through the gruelling process of regaining it.
7. Major Exemptions
It's quite often the case that the winner doesn't have to worry about qualifying for Major Championships, given that they'll often be right up there in the Official World Golf Ranking.
However, who knows what's around the corner? Win the Players Championship and you're guaranteed a spot at The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open for three years (including the current year) - which is a guaranteed 12 Major starts.
8. A Locker
Now this is cool.
Forget the huge payday, winning players at Sawgrass get something that money can’t buy: your own locker in TPC Sawgrass’ Champions' Locker Room. Serious bragging rights.
9. Hawaii
The winner can also look forward to starting 2026 in Hawaii at The Sentry, which has had its own mammoth purse these past two years – $20 million.
The Sentry is one of eight Signature Events, which features a smaller field and very attractive prize money.
10. Parking
One of the perks of winning the Players Championship is that you get your own car parking spot at TPC properties.
Returning champion Scheffler will be able to cruise up and pull straight into his space.
Cameron Smith had his own spot after winning the flagship event in 2022, but that was taken away when he joined LIV Golf.
