Masters champion Rory McIlroy speaks to members of the media following his victory in the final round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, April 12, 2026 (Getty Images)

IN THE GREEN

Rory McIlroy just secured a second consecutive Masters title — and the biggest prize pot to date

Winning a sixth major title in the year of a record purse, McIlroy is now the Masters’ highest-earning golfer.

Millie Giles

4/13/26 10:24AM

After 16 previous attempts, Rory McIlroy finally banished his demons at Augusta National Golf Club last year to win the Masters Tournament and complete his career Grand Slam. Now, he finds himself in even more rarefied air, hanging onto the green jacket for 2026 as he claimed a one-shot victory over current world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Yesterday’s win makes the 36-year-old Northern Irish golfer just the fourth back-to-back Masters winner in history, joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Sir Nick Faldo, while taking his major count to six overall.

While McIlroy may have reached the stage of his golfing career where he measures success more by legacy than by prize money, it won’t hurt that his latest is also his most lucrative major win. By claiming the $4.5 million top prize, up from $4.2 million last year, he has also become the tournament’s highest-earning player ever.

Figures cited by Golf Digest on the top cash prize at Augusta National dating back to 1934, adjusted for inflation, show that the amount one can earn from winning the tournament has increased significantly, as the Masters’ purse has more than doubled over the last decade.

McIlroy’s reward yesterday is roughly 2.5x what Tiger Woods earned from his 2001 victory — the first winner’s share that crossed the nominal $1 million mark — and about 125x the prize awarded at the first-ever Masters in today’s dollars.

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Though Scheffler missed out on a Masters title, he still scooped ~$2.4 million for coming in second place, as this year’s record $22.5 million purse was shared between the 54 golfers who made the 36-hole cut.

But while Sunday’s win saw McIlroy become the highest earner at the Masters specifically, as many pro sports players already know, the real money often comes from sponsors and brand deals.

Even Tiger Woods, who has barely teed up in competition in the last 18 months and dominated headlines leading up to the tournament for all the wrong reasons, took home an eye-watering $45 million in off-course earnings last year, per Forbes.

Millie Giles

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Kids these days are listening to more songs from the good old days

Music nostalgia is in full swing, and the younger listeners of today appear to be partying like it’s pre-1999.

Saleah Blancaflor6/4/26

Drake whiffs on an expected No. 1 on Spotify

Drake started at the bottom and he’s here, but not quite at the top... of Spotify, at least.

It’s been nearly three weeks since Drake dropped his three surprise albums — “Iceman,” “Habibti,” and “Maid of Honour.” Heading into the month, prediction markets were rating it a near certainty, a 98% chance, that Drake’s sonic onslaught was enough to snag the No. 1 slot on Spotify at least once in June.

But, while he surpassed the late Michael Jackson and took up three slots on the Billboard album chart at once, his newly released songs haven’t quite cracked the popular music-streaming platform’s top charts, and market seem to think the moment has passed.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Spotify’s “Top Songs - Global” chart currently show that Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” which is more than four decades old, Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and a Beat,” which climbed back to the top of Spotify charts following his Coachella set in the spring, Olivia Rodrigo’s new angsty love song “The Cure,” and BTS’s “Swim” are all ahead of Drake’s “STFU Janice” from his “Iceman” album.

While Spotify previously reported last month that Drake’s “Make Them Cry” was the most streamed album in a single day this year, that was later revealed to be a data error.

Prediction markets currently show traders are betting there’s only a 15% chance Drake will have a No. 1 song on Spotify in June.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift is in the lead at 98% — a day before the release of her new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which she wrote and performed for Disney and Pixar’s upcoming “Toy Story 5” — followed by Olivia Rodrigo, whose highly anticipated album “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love” comes out next Friday.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

While Spotify previously reported last month that Drake’s “Make Them Cry” was the most streamed album in a single day this year, that was later revealed to be a data error.

Prediction markets currently show traders are betting there’s only a 15% chance Drake will have a No. 1 song on Spotify in June.

GameStop’s collectibles business just keeps booming, as “Pokémon” cards continue to fly

Collectibles revenue grew 65% year over year in its latest quarter.

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Saleah Blancaflor6/3/26

Will critics and audiences go out of this world for Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day”?

Legendary director Steven Spielberg is back with his first film in four years.

While 2022’s Oscar-nominated “The Fabelmans” was a semi-autobiographical film, it looks like he’s back to his sci-fi roots with the upcoming release of Universal Pictures’ “Disclosure Day.”

The movie stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, and follows a cybersecurity whistleblower (O’Connor) and meteorologist (Blunt) who work together to uncover government secrets and expose the truth about extraterrestrial life.

Some first reactions out of early screenings shared on social media have been praising the film so far. Germain Lussier, a senior entertainment reporter at Gizmodo, posted on X that the movie is Spielberg’s “best film in 20 years,” while many have praised Blunt’s performance as one of her best. Others have said it is reminiscent of the filmmaker’s other sci-fi classics like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. While the global embargo for formal reviews doesn’t lift until Tuesday, June 9, at 12 p.m. ET following more advance screenings in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities ahead of the June 12 release date, traders on prediction markets are currently betting there is a 68% chance that the movie will score above 85% on the site.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

‘Disclosure Day’ First Reactions Call Steven Spielberg’s Sci-Fi Epic ‘His Best Film in 20 Years’ and Praise Emily Blunt’s ‘All-Time’ Performance

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Millie Giles

BLOCKS, BUSTED

6/3/26

Major movie franchise sequels might not be the safe bet they once were

With internet-born indie horrors storming past the latest “Star Wars” movie, it seems Hollywood’s winning formula might not always add up.

Rory McIlroy just secured a second consecutive Masters title — and the biggest prize pot to date

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More Culture

Drake whiffs on an expected No. 1 on Spotify

GameStop’s collectibles business just keeps booming, as “Pokémon” cards continue to fly

Will critics and audiences go out of this world for Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day”?

‘Disclosure Day’ First Reactions Call Steven Spielberg’s Sci-Fi Epic ‘His Best Film in 20 Years’ and Praise Emily Blunt’s ‘All-Time’ Performance

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