The Open distant fourth among majors with $17.75M prize pool

While the Claret Jug that is handed to the winner of The Open Championship remains one of the most respected trophies in golf, the payouts for the tournament are lacking among sport’s four majors.

The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, will hand out $17.75 million in prize money on Sunday.

The Masters and U.S. Open each handed out $22.5 million in prize money this year, while the PGA Championship had a $20.5 million purse. Of those three events, the U.S. Open had the biggest increase from 2025, adding $1 million.

The Open Championship increased its purse this year by $750,000, but that number is behind all three of the other majors.

Prize money for PGA Tour and DP World Tour events has increased steadily since the advent of LIV Golf in 2022. 

LIV is paying out $32.3 million at each of its tournaments this year but recently lost its prime source of funding when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced it would no longer bankroll the tour.

The winner of The Open Championship, which tees off Thursday, will receive $3.2 million. That sum is up $100,000 from last year. 

Rory McIlroy earned $4.5 million for winning The Masters in April, while Aaron Rai took home $3.69 million for winning the PGA Championship in May and Wyndham Clark earned $4.5 million for winning the U.S. Open in June.

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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 1:32 PM.