The Skins Game is a long-running golf “silly season” event that features four golfers playing skins — a betting, match play format.
Running from 1983 to 2008 (and returning in 2025), the Skins game has over the years been able to attract some of the biggest names in golf, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods.
The Skins game involves four players in what essentially is a match play format. Each hole has a monetary value, and the low score on the hole takes the prize. If two or more are tied for the low score (players take a half), the money carries over to the next hole. If the final hole is halved, there’s a playoff. Any player that didn’t half the hole in a playoff drops out of the competition.
A variation of the format was used in 2001, when the player winning a hole had to halve or win the next hole to collect his skins from the previous hole. Only one player—Greg Norman—managed to pull it off. Norman won the 17th and tied for low on the 18th to collect $800,000, the largest skin collected for one hole. He won the $200,000 in a playoff to win the entire $1 million dollar prize money.
Fred Couples has been called “Mr. Skins” because of his dominance in the Skins Game. He has won $3,515,000 and 77 skins in 11 appearances. He has won five of the Skins Games overall. He’s also known as the King of the Silly Season.
Annika Sorenstam is the only female player to participate in the Skins Game.
The revived 2025 edition included four Ryder Cup players: Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele
The list of past winners is below:
| Year | Winner | Winnings |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Keegan Bradley | $2,100,000 |
| 2009 – 2024 |
No Game | |
| 2008 | KJ Choi | $415,000 |
| 2007 | Stephen Ames | $675,000 |
| 2006 | Stephen Ames | $590,000 |
| 2005 | Fred Funk | $925,000 |
| 2004 | Fred Couples | $640,000 |
| 2003 | Fred Couples | $605,000 |
| 2002 | Mark O’Meara | $405,000 |
| 2001 | Greg Norman | $1,000,000 |
| 2000 | Colin Montgomerie | $415,000 |
| 1999 | Fred Couples | $635,000 |
| 1998 | Mark O’Meara | $430,000 |
| 1997 | Tom Lehman | $300,000 |
| 1996 | Fred Couples | $280,000 |
| 1995 | Fred Couples | $270,000 |
| 1994 | Tom Watson | $210,000 |
| 1993 | Payne Stewart | $280,000 |
| 1992 | Payne Stewart | $220,000 |
| 1991 | Payne Stewart | $260,000 |
| 1990 | Curtis Strange | $225,000 |
| 1989 | Curtis Strange | $265,000 |
| 1988 | Ray Floyd | $290,000 |
| 1987 | Lee Trevino | $310,000 |
| 1986 | Fuzzy Zoeller | $370,000 |
| 1985 | Fuzzy Zoeller | $255,000 |
| 1984 | Jack Nicklaus | $240,000 |
| 1983 | Gary Player | $170,000 |
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