Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)2026-04-11T16:55:28Z AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) If Rory McIlroy is able to hang on and win his second consecutive Masters on Sunday, hell walk away with $4.5 million.Thats up from the $4.2 million he won last year.The Masters on Saturday announced its prize purse for this years championship at $22.5 million overall the highest payout of golfs four majors. The Masters prize payout was $21 million last year.The other three major tournaments have not announced prize funds for this year. In 2025, the PGA Championships was $19 million, the British Opens was $17 million and the U.S. Opens was $21.5 million.Last month Cameron Young won $4.5 for capturing the Players Championship, which featured a $25 million overall prize purse.McIlroy entered the third round of the Masters on Saturday with a six-stroke lead over Patrick Reed and Sam Burns. He is seeking to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back championships at Augusta National and the first since Tiger Woods nearly 25 years ago (2001-02). The top four finishers at the Masters will each make at least $1 million.The runner-up is set to take home $2.43 million, while the third-place finisher will receive $1.53 million and fourth place gets $1.08 million.All professionals who did not make the cut at the Masters will get $25,000.___AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf