London: The prize money on offer for this year’s British Open has increased by 22% to a total of $14 million, with the winner set to take home $2.5 million, organisers Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) said on Friday.
The 150th edition of the British Open will be played at St Andrews and is expected to draw a record attendance of 290,000.
The increase in prize money comes in the wake of the PGA Tour unveiling larger purses for the 2022-23 season in response to the lucrative LIV Invitational Series.
The Saudi-backed series is offering purses of $25 million at seven-of-eight events and a $50 million prize fund at the series finale.
“There have been significant changes in prize money over the last year,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said. “We have therefore increased the prize fund by 22% which means that the prize money has increased by more than 60% since 2016.
“We have made this substantial investment while balancing our wider commitments to developing golf at all levels around the world and to continuing to elevate the AIG Women’s Open.”
The sport’s oldest championship will boost their prize fund further if more than 70 professional golfers make the cut for the final two rounds.
The British Open has historically offered smaller purses than the three other majors with the US Open offering $17.5 million this year, while the US Masters and PGA Championship offered $15 million each.
The tournament will run from July 14-17. — Reuters
