R&A Chief Defends Open Prize Fund - Says Focus Is On Global Investment

Martin Slumbers has defended the amount of prize money on offer at The Open this year - saying the R&A has a responsibility to spend its money wisely for the betterment of the entire game.

Slumbers gave his final Open press conference as R&A boss as he's leaving his role at the end of the year, saying he's "decided this year to say what I really think" about his concerns over the money in golf and where is should be spent.

Although the winner of the Claret Jug will win an Open record $3.1m first prize for conquering the Ayrshire links, the total prize fund of $17m is up just $500,000 from last year and the lowest of the four Majors.

It's actually just the 28th most ever been on offer at a Major - and also ranks behind all the PGA Tour Signature Events and LIV Golf tournaments which both offer $20m each time.

Slumbers backed the R&A's decision to limit prize money, and says it has a responsibility to allocate funds to all levels of golf from recreational and amateur to the Open participants.

"I've expressed concern in recent years about financial sustainability in the men's professional game," said Slumbers.

"If you look at golf as a pyramid, however strong the pyramid is at the top, it can only be sustained in the long term if the pyramid is equally strong at the base.

"We see that as our responsibility, and that is why we invest all of the proceeds from The Open back into the sport. 

"We have to be careful to do that in such a way as to ensure that the recreational game is thriving and that the most talented players have a pathway to the top of the game so the professional game of tomorrow flourishes. We can't do that if we neglect the base of the pyramid.

"While we will always offer a very competitive prize fund for The Open, our wider focus is on increasing participation and improving pathways in golf. We have to make choices about how we allocate resources and make the resources we have go as far as they can."

Open ignore Major money arms race

Slumbers says the R&A is aware of the cash being splashed about on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and other Majors, but is happy to stay out of that and focus on his priority of growing the game at every level.

"There's clearly a market out there. We watch it week in and week out, throughout regular play as well as through the big events," Slumbers added.

"So we're aware of what the numbers are, but we're also aware of our own business model and the way we think about it, and as I keep saying, the importance to keep investing.

"I look at this in a much bigger picture. It's very easy to get binary and a little bit down a dark alley in this topic. If you think about a pie and that is the financial economic value of golf, and a part of that goes on development, a part of it goes on employing people, and a part of that goes into development of the game. 

"What we're really talking about in the whole of this is getting the balance between particularly the prize money and the investment into the game in a way that we can ensure that the pie grows, and if the pie grows, everybody does better. If you reallocate incorrectly within an existing pie, there's a real danger that the pie will shrink.

"So that's the way I think about it. That's the way we try to model it, and I think it's very important for the game to make sure that we think that way if we really want this game thriving 50 years from now."

Values are golf's secret weapon

When told this Open would offer just the 28th most prize money ever in a Major, Slumbers responded "I don't care" as he feels prize money will level out at some point - and warned that growing cash payouts were not what people were attracted to golf for.

"That's not what this is about. I think the whole thing - our responsibility is for what we do and for what we run is to get that balance right and get the choices to ensure the game is thriving 50 years from now. That's the role of the R&A.

"There has been a massive increase in prize money. Do I think it will continue? No, I don't. I think that there is a natural balance that will be achieved, and I think it's important that the R&A particularly - it's not just because it's my last press conference, but I've decided this year to say what I really think about ensuring that we do not lose sight of that overall pyramid and the importance of the bottom and the top and helping it all grow because without one or the other, it won't.

"But perhaps the most important component of all to golf's future success is staying true to its values. What sets golf apart from other sports is its ability to maintain a unique value set. It's a value set defined by integrity, personal accountability, and respect. 

"These are precisely the values that sponsors want their products or services to be associated with and that are fundamental to golf's appeal. These values are golf's secret weapon, and we cannot afford to let them be diminished."