Mike Hall
The Claret Jug is not the only prize on offer for players competing in the 152nd Open this week, with the R&A announcing the biggest ever prize pool at the final men's Major of 2024.
The winner of The Open at Royal Troon will receive $3.1m in prize money, with the overall payout for the tournament increasing by $500,000 to $17m.
There is also a hefty consolation prize for those who narrowly miss out on becoming the Champion Golfer of the Year, with second place taking home $1.75m and third claiming seven figures at $1.1m.
Nevertheless, the money on offer is lower than all three of the other men's Majors of 2024. April's Masters at Augusta National offered $20m, while the PGA Championship the following month had a payout of 18.5m, with $21.5m available at the US Open, where Bryson DeChambeau claimed $4.3m after defeating Rory McIlroy in dramatic fashion on the final day.
Brian Harman is the defending champion at Royal Troon after earning $3m for his win in 2023. However, he appeared unlikely to repeat the feat as the final round of the 2024 tournament began, starting 10 behind overnight leader Billy Horschel. As to who will claim the Claret Jug and the $3.1m first prize, that was anyone's guess heading into Sunday's action, with 12 players all within four shots of the lead as play began.
Billy Horschel held the overnight lead heading into the final round of The Open
While big names including Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler still had realistic hopes of glory at the start of play on Sunday, for many other high-profile players, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, their challenges were over after just two days when they missed the cut.
Scottie Scheffler was one of many players in contention for the Claret Jug heading into Sunday
For those players, there was still prize money on offer, with the leading 10 players who missed the weekend earning $12,350. The next 20 golfers and ties earned $10,300, while the remaining competitors took home $8,750.
Despite the substantial purse for the 2024 event, CEO of The R&A Martin Slumbers has expressed concerns over the trend of increasing prize money in the men's game.
Before the 2024 tournament, he said: “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.”
While that is an issue for the men's game as a whole to grapple with, The Open remains one of the most lucrative events in the calendar.
Here's the full breakdown of this year's Open prize money.
| Position | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| 1st | $3,100,000 |
| 2nd | $1,759,000 |
| 3rd | $1,128,000 |
| 4th | $876,000 |
| 5th | $705,000 |
| 6th | $611,000 |
| 7th | $525,000 |
| 8th | $442,500 |
| 9th | $388,000 |
| 10th | $350,600 |
| 11th | $319,200 |
| 12th | $282,800 |
| 13th | $266,000 |
| 14th | $249,000 |
| 15th | $231,000 |
| 16th | $212,700 |
| 17th | $202,400 |
| 18th | $193,000 |
| 19th | $184,900 |
| 20th | $176,200 |
| 21st | $168,000 |
| 22nd | $159,600 |
| 23rd | $151,000 |
| 24th | $142,600 |
| 25th | $137,800 |
| 26th | $131,800 |
| 27th | $127,000 |
| 28th | $122,600 |
| 29th | $117,300 |
| 30th | $111,200 |
| 31st | $107,600 |
| 32nd | $102,100 |
| 33rd | $98,500 |
| 34th | $95,700 |
| 35th | $92,400 |
| 36th | $88,700 |
| 37th | $84,600 |
| 38th | $80,300 |
| 39th | $77,400 |
| 40th | $74,900 |
| 41st | $71,800 |
| 42nd | $68,300 |
| 43rd | $65,200 |
| 44th | $61,500 |
| 45th | $58,000 |
| 46th | $55,000 |
| 47th | $52,800 |
| 48th | $50,700 |
| 49th | $48,400 |
| 50th | $47,200 |
| 51st | $46,200 |
| 52nd | $45,400 |
| 53rd | $44,700 |
| 54th | $44,000 |
| 55th | $43,300 |
| 56th | $42,700 |
| 57th | $42,300 |
| 58th | $42,000 |
| 59th | $41,700 |
| 60th | $41,400 |
| 61st | $41,200 |
| 62nd | $41,000 |
| 63rd | $40,800 |
| 64th | $40,600 |
| 65th | $40,300 |
| 66th | $40,000 |
| 67th | $39,700 |
| 68th | $39,400 |
| 69th | $39,100 |
| 70th | $38,900 |
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