$16.5m prize pot for 151st Open, with winner picking up $3m

A view of the Claret Jug in front of the clubhouse at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake. Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images.

Next week’s 151st Open at Royal Liverpool will carry a record prize fund of $16.5 million - an 18 per cent increase on the $14.5m on offer in 2022.

The winner at Hoylake, where the event is being held for the 13th time, will pick up $3m compared to Cameron Smith’s $2.5m pay-day for winning at St Andrews last year.

In the other majors this year, The Masters was played for $18m, the PGA Championship for $17.5m and the US Open for $20m.

Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A, said: “Our aim is to ensure The Open remains at the pinnacle of world golf and we have almost doubled the prize fund since 2016.

“While we are seeing substantial increases in prize money across the men’s professional game, we are fulfilling our wider obligation to the sport by elevating the AIG Women’s Open, strengthening pathways in the elite amateur game and encouraging more people around the world to play golf.

“We believe that getting this balance right is vital to the long-term future of the sport.”

Players making the cut, provided no more than 70 players qualify, will pick up at least $37,800 while professionals teeing up on Merseyside are guaranteed a minimum of $8,500.