There’s a new sponsor for this annual tournament and it’s a heavy hitter. After three years (from 2016-2018) under the bankroll of CareerBuilder and another year with Desert Classic, American Express is taking over the role as sponsor, which means a number of things including this one: There will be a significant boost to the total purse starting this year. Phil Mickelson, a two-time winner of the tournament, is this year’s host, and whether that would translate to success on the course is something that we will all just have to wait and see for ourselves. Of course, the fact that it’s American Express sponsoring the tournament easily attracted bigger names to flock to La Quinta. Among them are the likes of Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Francesco Molinari and Tony Finau, so expect the atmosphere to feel a little bit similar to a major tournament.
As mentioned, the takeover by American Express has translated to a bigger purse for the former Desert Classic. After a total of $5.9 million worth of prizes in each of the last two editions of the tournament, the grand sum is now up by $800,000. When Adam Long won in 2019, he took home $1.062 million. The player who’ll win it this year, meanwhile, will receiver $1.206 million – almost $200,000 in increase. The purse has definitely come a long way since the tournament started in 1960, when Arnold Palmer won the inaugural staging and took home $70,000. Jay Haas was the first player to take home a million from the tournament when he bested the rest of the field in 1988.
The Complete Breakdown
Finish
Payout Amount
1st
$1.206 million
At press, the PGA has yet to release an official complete breakdown of the purse in The American Express outside of the top prize. For now, you can get an idea of how the prize will be distributed this year by looking at this breakdown of the 2019 Desert Classic Purse distribution from the runner-ups to the 73rd place.
