The Open Championship is returning after a one-year hiatus with one more million dollars in the purse. The R&A announced on Wednesday that this year’s prize fund will total $11.5 million, an increase from the $10.5 million doled out two years ago at Royal Portrush.
The overall increase also means that the payout total for the winner will exceed $2 million for the first time in the history of golf’s oldest major championship. Shane Lowry received $1.935 million for winning the Claret Jug in 2019, and this year’s winner will earn $2.070 million at Royal St. George’s.
The four majors, and the Players Championship, have been in a bit of a purse arms race over the last decade, with almost annual increases since a joint PGA of America and PGA Tour announcement in 2013 that they were bumping the purses of two of their marquee events, the PGA Championship and the Players, to $10 million. That was the first public commitment to an eight-figure total at these men’s majors (and the Players). That $10 million figure seems almost quaint now in 2021, with the Players boasting a massive $15 million purse. Even the no-cut WGCs now exceed that mark, with purses of $10.5 million in 2021.
The Open increase to $11.5 million will put it equal with the Masters payout total this year. That figure is the lowest among the men’s majors. Here’s that breakdown of the majors, and the Players:
Of course, prize money does not purely reflect the stature and import of a championship. But the increases and jostling among some of golf’s most prestigious events continues apace.
“We have increased the prize fund for The Open this year and believe that it fully reflects the Championship’s stature in world sport,” said R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers. “As the only men’s major championship played outside of America, The Open has a global role to play and we are determined to continue to attract the top players. We are further enhancing the status of our professional championships at the same time as making good progress towards our investment of £200 million over ten years in growing golf around the world.”
The Open shifted to awarding its prize money in U.S. dollars back in 2017, a significant change then but one that Slumbers said again came due to it being the world’s major and USD being the most prevalent currency for golf purses at the highest levels of the game.
The Open was the only men’s golf major that was not played last year due to the pandemic. And after that unexpected two-year wait, the players will have a little more cash in the pot to play for in England. Here are the payout totals for the top 70 players who make the cut this month at Royal St. George’s.