It seemed like Eric Cole was in position for his first career PGA Tour win after firing a moving-day 63 at the Charles Schwab Challenge. But when the dust settled on Sunday, it was Russell Henley who emerged with the trophy, outdueling Cole with a remarkable approach shot on the first playoff hole.

It seemed like Henley had shot himself out of contention after a disastrous four-bogey stretch on the front nine. But he birdied 17 and 18 to pull even with Cole before closing the deal in a playoff. And with that, he’s going to take home a nice chunk of prize money, as will the rest of the 74-man field that made the cut this week at Colonial.

Charles Schwab Challenge winner’s prize money, total purse for 2026

Russell Henley, the winner of the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge, will take home $1.782 million in prize money from Colonial — nearly 19 percent of the overall purse of $9.9 million. That number is down slightly from last week’s record $10.3 million at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, but this remains one of the financially healthier events on tour, occupying a sweet spot between the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. It’s also the first time that Henley has found himself taking home a winner’s purse since March of last year, when he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Charles Schwab Challenge payout distribution by finishing position

The purse for the Charles Schwab Challenge might not seem all that eye-popping, especially in the wake of the PGA Tournament (and two more signature events). Still, both the winner and runner-up at Colonial clearing the $1 million mark is nothing to sneeze at, not to mention six-figure paydays through the top 21 golfers.

And it should be noted that, while the payouts this week on the PGA Tour aren’t close to what we see at signature events, the purse size nearing $10 million overall actually makes it one of the richer regular tournaments on the schedule. So even if it pales in comparison to some, it can still be a highly profitable week on the golf course for these players.

Charles Schwab Challenge purse and winners in the last 5 years

Not only did the total purse for the Charles Schwab Challenge increase by some $400,000 from 2025 to 2026, but it’s jumped by a cool $2.4 million in the six years since 2021, when Jason Kokrak took home the trophy. Which shouldn’t be a surprise considering both the economic health of the PGA Tour and also the fact the event now belongs to Charles Schwab, a major sponsor with deep pockets which took over as title sponsor in 2019. (Schwab took over for Dean & Deluca and Crowne Plaza.)

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