Open prize money: How much do golfers get for winning the world’s oldest major?
Good news for golfers teeing it up at Royal Liverpool this week: Open prize money is up to record levels.
For the sixth year in a row, organisers the R&A have increased both the total prize pot and the winner’s payout.
In fact, both have more than doubled in a decade since Phil Mickelson lifted the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013.
How much is the Open prize money?
The total prize money at the Open has grown from $14m (£11.6m) last year to $16.5m (£12.7m) in 2023, an increase of 18 per cent.
Whoever finishes top of the leaderboard on Sunday in Hoylake stands to win $3m (£2.3m), up from $2.5m (£2.1m).
After prize money, the R&A reinvests the rest of the proceeds from its biggest tournament into developing golf.
How does Open compare to other men’s majors?
While golf’s oldest major pays handsomely, it is by no means the most lucrative tournament on the men’s circuit.
The US PGA Championship offers a total of $17.5m, with $3.15m going to this year’s winner Brooks Koepka, while Wyndham Clark scooped $3.6m from a $20m pot at the US Open last month.
LIV Golf has raised the financial bar, with each event on the Saudi-funded tour boasting a purse of $20m and a first prize of $4m.
The biggest payday based solely on one 72-hole tournament is the Players Championship, the unofficial fifth major, which awards its winner $4.5m from total prize money of $25m.