11 Perks Of Winning The US Open - What The Winner Gets

Anyone who becomes a Major champion has their name etched into golf's history books, but there are several other benefits that come with hoisting the US Open trophy come Sunday evening.

Here are are some of the perks this week's US Open champion at Oakmont will receive.

1. Their Own US Open Trophy

As strange as it may seem, when you see the trophy being presented to the US Open champion, it's not the actual trophy. That's because it is a permanent fixture of the USGA Museum in New Jersey.

Instead, the winner is handed a full-size replica that they keep for the duration of their reign. Once it's handed back, another slightly smaller replica trophy is given to the player to keep for good. This has been the case since 1986, when the real trophy was retired.

2. The Jack Nicklaus Medal

A gold medal has been handed to the winner since 1895, but at that time, the champions' club would get the trophy. 

The medal had originally been nameless, like the trophy, and neither did it have a standard design. That all changed in 2012, when it was finally named the Jack Nicklaus Medal and designed with an image of the Golden Bear's famous swing on it. 

The 18-time Major winner is one of a quartet of players to win the US Open four times, along with Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan.

3. Money

The US Open has the largest prize fund of the men's Majors and the 2025 US Open prize money is the largest in history, albeit it remains unchanged from last year.

As well as all of the above perks, the champion wins a huge $4.3m from the $21.5m total prize pool for coming on top after 72 holes at Oakmont.

4. Hall of Champions

The Hall of Champions, the signature architectural space in the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History at the USGA museum in New Jersey, celebrates every USGA champion and championship to date.

The oval rotunda is illuminated by a clerestory and houses the original 16 USGA national championship trophies. The US Open winner gets their name inscribed into one of the bronze panels that encircle the room along with every other USGA champion.

5. 10-year US Open exemption

This year's champion will automatically qualify for every single US Open up until 2035.

The US Open future venues are cemented until then so we know that their final US Open under the current exemption would be in ten years' time at Pinehurst.

The US Open winner's exemption is actually the lowest of all four men's Majors. The Masters and PGA Championship offer lifetime exemptions, while the Open Championship allows winners to compete until the age of 55.

6. Major exemptions

As well as a ten-year US Open spot, US Open winners get access into the next five editions of each of the other three men's Majors.

That means a US Open win guarantees another 25 Major starts.

7. Senior Golf

A US Open win also sets you up for post-50 golf too, with champions getting invites to the US Senior Open for five years.

They also receive invitations to the Senior Open and Senior PGA Championship.

8. PGA Tour card

Away from the Majors, the winner also receives a five-year exemption into The Players Championship and secures their PGA Tour card for the same amount of time.

Non-PGA Tour members can either join the PGA Tour within 60 days of winning, or in time for any one of the next five seasons.

9. Ranking Points

The player who conquers Oakmont will also receive plenty of Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

All Majors offer 100 world ranking points, while the next-best Players Championship offers 80.

10. Ryder Cup points

Every US player who makes the cut in a Major wins 1.5 Ryder Cup points per $1,000 earned, which is 50% more than the usual 1 point per $1,000 for regular PGA Tour events.

That means a huge $4.3m payday will equal a massive allocation of points and go a long way to securing their automatic qualifying spot on the team.

If the US Open winner is European, they earn 835 points, which far exceeds the 500 on offer to Players Championship and Signature Event winners as well as the 335 that goes to Rolex Series winners.

Regular DP World Tour events give 168 or 250 points to the champion.

To put it simply, if you win a Major in 2025 you've got a great chance of securing a spot on either team for Bethpage.

11. FedEx Cup points

For those on the PGA Tour, FedEx Cup points also come into play.

Major winners, and Players Championship winners, pick up 750 FedEx Cup points. Signature Events give 700 to their winners, while regular events offer 500.

The biggest FedEx Cup points actually come during the Playoffs, where 2,000 points go to the winners of the first two events.