The spiralling prize funds being offered for the world’s best golfers took another significant rise following the announcement that the winner of this year’s 150th Open Championship at St Andrews will pocket a cool £2.1m.
That sum represents an increase of more than £300,000 on the £1.7m Collin Morikawa won in 2021, while the total purse for the game’s oldest major has risen by 22% from last year to a new record high of £11.2m.
Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A, said: “There have been significant changes in prize money over the last year. 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.”