The Open Prize Money Is Higher Than Ever... But How Much Take-Home Pay Does The Winner Actually See?

At The Open Championship in 2026, there will be the highest prize money payout in more than 150 years.

The R&A revealed an increased purse of $17.75 million at Royal Birkdale, a significant step up from the round $17 million up for grabs at Royal Portrush this time last year.

Going back even further highlights just how far prize money has come at The Open.

From the princely sum of £10 in 1863 to £8,500 a century later, Bob Charles would have likely not believed you if you'd told him 50 years after that they'd be playing for upwards of $5 million.

The latest round of prize money booms have arrived in the past decade. The first was between 2016 and 2017 when the overall purse jumped from $6.5 million to $10.25 million.

Then, after they played for $11.5 million at Royal St George's in 2021, the championship payout rocketed to $14 million. It was later $16.5 million as Brian Harman won around Royal Liverpool in 2023.

But after a year of holding steady at $17 million, The 154th Open will be contested with almost $18 million on the line. Still comfortably the lowest total of all four men's Majors in 2026 (PGA Championship - $20.5 million, The Masters & US Open - $22.5 million).

Nevertheless, an increase to the overall payout has naturally led to more money heading the way of the Champion Golfer of the Year. While we don't know who that is at this stage, we do know they will scoop $3.2 million.

Or will they? $3.2 million (roughly £2.38 million) is only the headline number. It's not the amount the champion will welcome into their account next Wednesday when the finances are cleared. Far from it.

I should say at this stage, and it's important I emphasize the point, that every single professional golfer's financial situation is different and their agreement with their staff could well differ to their peers.

Some of the numbers I'll lay out after this are either educated guesses based on information I know to be true or base numbers that could vary slightly depending on other factors.

Having said that, there are two factors which will affect everyone the same, no matter who wins. The first is a 10% share of the top payout, which goes to the caddie.

It's common in pro golf for the tournament champion to share 10% of their winnings with their looper and between 7-8% providing they make the cut. Therefore, the triumphant assistant is destined to pick up a bonus of $320,000 from the $3.2 million very soon.

The other unavoidable factor which every player has to deal with is tax. Tax rules in the US and UK are quite different, with America operating state, federal and individual income tax and the UK only requiring income tax from a situation such as this.

That doesn't mean a pro golfer pays less tax in the British Isles, however. If anything, it can be higher on the European side of the Atlantic.

In theory, a golfer can live in one of the many tax-free US states such as Florida to limit the figure they're giving away and then win a tournament in a state where tax rates are relatively low.

So, for example, a pro golfer who lives in Florida and wins in New York could only end up paying less than 10% tax on their earnings. But that's before Federal taxes which are fairly complicated and range between 10% and 37%, depending on the declared amount earned.

Federal tax is also worked out by annual earnings rather than weekly, too, so pros are unlikely to lose as much as they would if they were docked per event. For context, Wyndham Clark is likely to have given up around $1.5 million of his $4.5 million winner's check at the US Open last month purely to Uncle Sam.

In terms of The Open Championship, though, prize money is paid out by The R&A which is based in Scotland. Therefore, regardless of the winner's nationality, they will be subject to the tax rules of the United Kingdom.

And unfortunately for them, UK tax rates on large one-off earnings are quite high - specifically 45% for earnings over £125,140.

Therefore, that $3.2 million winner's check could see around $1.44 million handed over to Her Majesty's Revenue And Customs (HMRC) straight away. Add in the $320,000 due to the caddie and they're already more than half down on the original number.

From there, coaches, physiotherapists and trainers are all due a small bonus of the $3.2 million for their part in the victory as well.

It's unlikely to be as much as a caddie, but - again - each player's agreement with their team varies, as does the number of staff in said team, so it's difficult to say with any certainty what they might pay out.

But, if we say each staff member takes away a 3% bonus and an average leading pro employs four external individuals, the Open Championship winner could easily be looking at parting with an additional $400,000 or so.

Taking all of the above into account, it remains possible that whoever wins The Open on Sunday may be looking at take-home pay of just over $1 million as opposed to the advertised $3.2 million - roughly a third of the original figure.

Additionally, what I've written about here only relates to tournament prize money and doesn't begin to include sponsorship and endorsement bonuses the lucky pro will be due - payouts which will boost his earnings back up.

Away from the purse set out by The R&A, players will also have to take into account accommodation, food, travel and several other logistical issues which cost money.

The point of this article is certainly not to strike up the tiny violin for pro golfers - far from it. They're doing very well for themselves and are undoubtedly extremely grateful to be in the position they're in.

It is more to educate and highlight how extreme the drop off in take-home pay is compared to the numbers that are lauded about when it comes to tournament prize money.

If there are any other areas of the pro game's finances you would love to read about, please let us know in the comments box below. For the time being, enjoy The Open Championship.

THE OPEN WINNER'S CHECK BREAKDOWN

TOTAL POTENTIAL TAKE-HOME PAY: $1,056,000