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 |
-
'I Think We All Hoped It Would Have Been A Little Further Long, And That's No Secret' - Brooks Koepka's Echoes Recent Tough Love Towards LIV GolfThe five-time Major champion said progress is being made with the PIF-backed circuit after stating it was "quite far behind" its rivals on The Joe Pomp Show
-
How You Can Play St Andrews Old Course In ReverseYou can win a tee time on the 'reversed' Old Course at St Andrews next year by shooting the lowest gross score over the virtual links this April
-
'I'd A Great Chance Of Winning This Open' - Shane Lowry Admits Troon Near Miss Will 'Hurt'Shane Lowry thought he'd be heading back to Royal Portrush next year as Open champion again as he felt he was playing well enough to win at Troon
-
'It's Something I've Always Wanted' - Xander Schauffele Reveals Grand Slam Ambition After Open VictoryXander Schauffele says he's always had an eye on winning a career Grand Slam even before he became a quick-fire double Major champion
-
'Nonsense. That's Links Golf Courses' - Paul McGinley Says Shane Lowry Will 'Regret' Open Set-Up CommentsThe Golf Channel analyst labelled Lowry's call to have a couple of tees pushed forward on Saturday "nonsense" after the 2019 Open Champion was mildly critical of how the R&A had set Royal Troon up in bad weather
-
Watch The Moment World No.1 Scottie Scheffler Tops A Tee Shot At The OpenThe American had a moment to forget on the final hole of The Open at Royal Troon
-
‘I Just Looked At It As A Normal Sunday Of A Normal Golf Tournament’ - Thriston Lawrence Explains ‘Calm’ Mindset To Finish Fourth At The OpenThe South African admitted he was far from overawed at the occasion as he claimed his best-ever finish at a Major with fourth at The Open
-
‘I Left It All Out There’ - Justin Rose Admits ‘Choking Back Tears’ After Close Call At The OpenThe Englishman's wait for a second Major championship goes on after he finished in a tie for second alongside Billy Horschel at Royal Troon
-
Billy Horschel 'Disappointed' Despite Best Ever Major Finish At The OpenDespite a three-under-par final round, the American left Royal Troon 'disappointed' after finishing two strokes behind fellow countryman, Xander Schauffele
-
Xander Schauffele Reveals Caddie Told Him He 'Was About To Puke' On 18th On Way To Open WinThe Open champion has admitted his caddie Austin Kaiser was struggling to keep it together as Schauffele closed in on the Claret Jug
