The 152nd British Open tees off on Thursday, July 18, and the winner will receive $3.1 million, according to The R&A, which runs the golf major. It is a record amount for The Open Championship, but it’s an increase of only $100,000 or 3% versus last year when American Brian Harmon won.
“The R&A has a responsibility to strike a balance between maintaining The Open’s position in the global game, providing the funds required for governance and developing amateur and recreational golf in 146 countries internationally,” Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A, said in a statement Monday announcing the news. “We have to make choices if we want to continue to build on the significant growth in participation that is essential for golf’s future.”
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The total purse for the event, the smallest of golf’s major championships, is $17 million, up $500,000. The U.S. Open is the biggest at $21.5 million, and last month, Bryson DeChambeau earned $4.3 million for his win. Scottie Scheffler won $3.6 million of the Masters’ $20 million pool. In May, Xander Schauffele made $3.3 million for his PGA Championship title—the total payout was $18.5 million.
Golf prize money has exploded in recent years with the launch of LIV Golf. In 2023, LIV paid out $405 million over 14 events, including $115 million in team prize money. The PGA Tour increased its prize money last year in response to LIV poaching its player roster. The Tour handed out more than $560 million in 2023, including $100 million for the Player Impact Program (PIP) and $75 million for the Tour Championship, up $140 million from the prior year.
The PGA Tour bumped the total purse to $20 million and winner’s check to $4 million for most of its 14 newly dubbed “elevated” events—it marked a 47% increase from the payouts at those 14 events in 2022. The totals matched what LIV was doing for their events.
The soaring payouts helped Scheffler break his own 2023 prize money record this year by the second week in June. His current total is $27.7 million.
“We remain concerned about the impact substantial increases in men’s professional prize money are having on the perception of the sport and its long-term financial sustainability,” Slumbers said. “We are determined to act with the interests of the global game in mind as we pursue our goal of ensuring golf continues to thrive in 50 years’ time.”
The British Open starts Thursday at Royal Troon Golf Club. Henrik Stenson won the last time the club hosted the Open in 2016. This year’s favorites are Scheffler (+450), Rory McIlroy (+750) and Schauffele (+1100), according to DraftKings.
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