Rich pro golfers are about to get even richer this week. The resumption of the PGA TOUR at TPC Sawgrass with the 2021 THE PLAYERS Championship this Thursday guarantees a total of $15 million in prizes, as listed on the official site of the PGA TOUR.

That is the same amount that was supposed to be distributed last year in the 2020 THE PLAYERS Championship, but that event was canceled right in the very first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The winner of this year's edition of the tournament will be taking home $2.7 million — or $450,000 more than what Rory McIlroy took home in 2019 when he won by a stroke over Jim Furyk at TPC Sawgrass.

Via David Kenyon of Bleacher Report:

Last year, a total of $15 million would have been distributed to the 50-person field with $2.7 million to the winner. The purse and winner's prize money are the same in 2021.

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Speaking of McIlroy, the Northern Irishman is among the favorites to win the tournament along with the likes of Dustin Johnson, John Rahm, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau.

Johnson is considered as the overall favorite to win by the end of the week at TPC Sawgrass even though he hasn't won there in 12 career starts. But that's also a testament to how the public is perceiving the greatness of Johnson, who's made the cut in all six starts he's had on the season, including a win at the 2020 Masters Tournament.

The $15-million purse for the 2021 THE PLAYERS Championship also shows just how far the tournament has come, financially.

When this even started in 1974, then known as the Tournament Players Championship, the total purse was $250,000, with Jack Nicklaus collecting $50,000 for topping the field.