The Senior Open Championship Prize Money Payout 2026: How Much Does The Major Winner Earn?
Hot on the heels of The Open at Royal Birkdale, the 2026 Senior Open Championship has been contested on Gleneagles' King's Course in Scotland
The final senior Major of the year is almost at an end and several legends of the game are battling it out for yet another trophy to add to their respective cabinets.
Despite being over 50 years old, the desire to win has not wavered for any of those still competing at Gleneagles' famous King's Course in Scotland this weekend.
And their urge to come out on top will remain until the final putt drops on Sunday with another $2.85 million tournament purse on the line.
As far as the Majors go, The Senior Open offers the second smallest. However, there's still almost $450,000 heading the way of the winner.
In addition, each of the top five could theoretically walk away with a six-figure payout while a top-10 result could be good enough for upwards of $50,000.
This one is not about the money, though, as it's still one of the most prestigious titles available in the world of seniors golf.
Padraig Harrington was victorious last year, defeating Justin Leonard and co. by three strokes at Sunningdale Old Course to wrap up an Open Championship double on both sides of the Atlantic.
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The Irishman, who successfully defended his US Senior Open crown earlier this year, is in final form once again but will not go back-to-back on British shores. Instead, American Jerry Kelly appears best placed to triumph.
Until we find out for certain who will win, below is the maximum prize money payout for each position at The Senior Open before ties are taken into account and based on 75 players making the cut.
The Senior Open Prize Money Breakdown
Position |
Prize Money |
|---|---|
1st |
$447,800 |
2nd |
$298,680 |
3rd |
$168,036 |
4th |
$134,292 |
5th |
$113,772 |
6th |
$93,936 |
7th |
$80,484 |
8th |
$67,032 |
9th |
$60,192 |
10th |
$53,694 |
11th |
$49,362 |
12th |
$45,942 |
13th |
$42,978 |
14th |
$41,154 |
15th |
$39,444 |
16th |
$37,620 |
17th |
$25,910 |
18th |
$34,542 |
19th |
$33,402 |
20th |
$32,490 |
21st |
$31,578 |
22nd |
$30,666 |
23rd |
$29,754 |
24th |
$28,842 |
25th |
$27,930 |
26th |
$27,018 |
27th |
$26,106 |
28th |
$25,194 |
29th |
$24,396 |
30th |
$23,598 |
31st |
$22,800 |
32nd |
$22,002 |
33rd |
$21,318 |
34th |
$20,634 |
35th |
$20,064 |
36th |
$19,494 |
37th |
$18,924 |
38th |
$18,354 |
39th |
$17,898 |
40th |
$17,328 |
41st |
$16,872 |
42nd |
$16,302 |
43rd |
$15,846 |
44th |
$15,276 |
45th |
$14,820 |
46th |
$14,364 |
47th |
$13,794 |
48th |
$13,338 |
49th |
$12,768 |
50th |
$12,312 |
51st |
$11,742 |
52nd |
$11,286 |
53rd |
$10,716 |
54th |
$10,260 |
55th |
$9,690 |
56th |
$9,234 |
57th |
$8,778 |
58th |
$8,436 |
59th |
$7,980 |
60th |
$7,638 |
61st |
$7,296 |
62nd |
$6,954 |
63rd |
$6,726 |
64th |
$6,384 |
65th |
$6,156 |
66th |
$5,814 |
67th |
$5,586 |
68th |
$5,358 |
69th |
$5,130 |
70th |
$4,901 |
71st |
$4,674 |
72nd |
$4,446 |
73rd |
$4,218 |
74th |
$3,990 |
75th |
$3,672 |

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time.
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