Zach Johnson, we can presume, has never read this story.
Two days before this week’s John Deere Classic, he’d been asked for his thoughts on the tournament potentially becoming “second tier” under upcoming changes on the PGA Tour, and Johnson went on to talk about his affection for the event. He said he appreciated the people who run it. He said he appreciated the work they do. He also said that should it become a spot below the first tier, there still will be “phenomenal athletes playing and opportunity galore.”
He also said this:
“I’ll just say, you know, personally speaking, and I say this — this is my 24th start? I have no idea what the purse is,” Johnson said. “I have never looked at one in my entire tenure. I don’t know. I’ve had to look on the Champions Tour because they’ve asked me, but I honestly don’t know, and I don’t care.
“Personally speaking, money is not the motivation. It’s about winning championships. It’s about making myself better each and every week for the next week, and I hope my peers see it that way.”
Zach, should you be interested, below are the money payouts for the John Deere Classic, played at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
John Deere Classic purse, winner’s share
1. $1.584 million
2. $959,200
3. $607,200
4. $431,200
5. $360,800
6. $319,000
7. $297,000
8. $275,000
9. $257,400
10. $239,800
11. $222,200
12. $204,600
13. $187,000
14. $169,400
15. $160,600
16. $151,800
17. $143,000
18. $134,200
19. $125,400
20. $116,600
21. $107,800
22. $99,000
23. $91,960
24. $84,920
25. $77,880
26. $70,840
27. $68,200
28. $65,560
29. $62,920
30. $60,280
31. $57,640
32. $55,000
33. $52,360
34. $50,160
35. $47,960
36. $45,760
37. $43,560
38. $41,800
39. $40,040
40. $38,280
41. $36,520
42. $34,760
43. $33,000
44. $31,240
45. $29,480
46. $27,720
47. $25,960
48. $24,552
49. $23,320
50. $22,616
51. $22,088
52. $21,560
53. $21,208
54. $20,856
55. $20,680
56. $20,504
57. $20,328
58. $20,152
59. $19,976
60. $19,800
61. $19,624
62. $19,448
63. $19,272
64. $19,096
65. $18,920
66. $18,744
67. $18,568
68. $18,392
69. $18,216
70. $18,040
71. $17,864
72. $17,688
73. $17,512
74. $17,336
75. $17,160
76. $16,984
77. $16,808
78. $16,632
79. $16,456