The reward for winning the Open Championship just got a little more \u2026 \u2018rewardier\u2019. The R&A announced that this year\u2019s \u201cchampion golfer of the year\u201d \u2013\u00a0New Zealand\u2019s Ryan Fox \u2013\u00a0will receive $US3.2 million from an overall prizemoney payout at Royal Birkdale of $17.75 million. That\u2019s a bump of $100,000 and a $750,000, respectively, from 2025 at Royal Portrush.<\/p>\n
In New Zealand dollars, that equates to about $5.5 million for four days work. Not bad, Foxy!<\/p>\n
RELATED: Ryan Fox grabs Open glory as Aussie fades on home stretch<\/a><\/p>\n On Wednesday, R&A chief executive Mark Darbon spoke to the media and touched on the modest increase. Previously, Darbon has noted a concern about the rising purses in major championships. For the R&A in particular, he has explained, the money offered to players comes at the expense of other programs that it funds, impacting the R&A\u2019s mission of growing the came at a grassroots level.<\/p>\n Darbon echoed that sentiment Wednesday, noting the importance of rewarding players in this iconic championship while also balancing the R&A\u2019s other interests:<\/p>\n \u201cWe look at prizemoney as part of a broader package that we offer here at The Open Championship. We\u2019ve also increased and continued to increase our investment into the player experience, and we\u2019re very proud of the fact that we consistently get told by the players that the experience \u2013\u00a0the facilities, the services, the support \u2013\u00a0that we offer during Open Championship week sets the benchmark for the rest of golf. We\u2019re intent on ensuring that that continues to remain the case.<\/p>\n MORE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE HERE<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSo prizemoney is but one component of that comparison. At the same time, we\u2019re trying to find a model that gets the balance right. We have a relatively unique model at the R&A. We invest the proceeds that we generate from this Open Championship back into the sport. That\u2019s really important for us, and we think we\u2019re finding the right balance.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite Darbon\u2019s lament, the Masters, PGA Championship and US Open each increased their prizemoney payouts in 2026. Here\u2019s where their paydays are right now:<\/p>\n Masters<\/a>:\u00a0$22.5 million\/$4.5 million Mind you, claiming the moniker \u201cchampion golfer of the year\u201d and having possession of the claret jug might be worth even more in the long run than the payday the winner will claim.<\/p>\n Its public fiscal caution aside, the R&A has followed the trend of others with steady increases in its prize money payouts over the last few decades. Here\u2019s how much the winners at Royal Birkdale over earned over time, in part mirroring the overall rise.<\/p>\n Year, Overall Purse, Winner\u2019s Share Here\u2019s the prizemoney payouts for everybody who played 72 holes this week. All figures in US dollars.<\/p>\n Win: Ryan Fox, -10\/270, $3,200,000<\/p>\n 2: Cameron Young, -9\/271, $1,842,000<\/p>\n 3: Sam Burns, -8\/272, $1,181,000<\/p>\n T-4: Scottie Scheffler, -7\/273, $827,500<\/p>\n T-4: Tommy Fleetwood, -7\/273, $827,500<\/p>\n T-6: Lucas Herbert, -6\/274, $550,883<\/p>\n T-6: Casey Jarvis, -6\/274, $550,883<\/p>\n T-6: Si Woo Kim, -6\/274, $550,883<\/p>\n T-9: Ryan Gerard, -5\/275, $336,380<\/p>\n T-9: Ludvig Aberg, -5\/275, $336,380<\/p>\n T-9: Adam Scott, -5\/275, $336,380<\/p>\n T-9: Russell Henley, -5\/275, $336,380<\/p>\n T-9: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, -5\/275, $336,380<\/p>\n T-14: Corey Conners, -4\/276 , $234,325<\/p>\n T-14: Sungjae Im, -4\/276 , $234,325<\/p>\n T-14: Hideki Matsuyama, -4\/276 , $234,325<\/p>\n T-14: Bryson DeChambeau, -4\/276 , $234,325<\/p>\n T-18: Rickie Fowler, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Chris Gotterup, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Bud Cauley, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Marco Penge, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Alex Noren, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Collin Morikawa, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Kristoffer Reitan, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Daniel Brown, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Jordan Smith, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-18: Xander Schauffele, -3\/277, $164,575<\/p>\n T-28: John Parry, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Victor Perez, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Patrick Cantlay, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Brooks Koepka, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Pierceson Coody, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Robert MacIntyre, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Jacob Bridgeman, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Max Homa, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Shane Lowry, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Cameron John, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Kazuma Kobori, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-28: Jackon Suber, -2\/278, $102,817<\/p>\n T-40: Thomas Detry, -1\/279, $69,750<\/p>\n T-40: J.J. Spaun, -1\/279, $69,750<\/p>\n T-40: Kurt Kitayama, -1\/279, $69,750<\/p>\n T-40: Michael Thorbjornsen, -1\/279, $69,750<\/p>\n T-40: Matt Wallace, -1\/279, $69,750<\/p>\n T-40: Rory McIlroy, -1\/279, $69,750<\/p>\n T-46: Matthew Southgate, E\/280, $51,707<\/p>\n T-46: Eugenio Chacarra, E\/280, $51,707<\/p>\n T-46: Patrick Reed, E\/280, $51,707<\/p>\n T-46: Francesco Molinari, E\/280, $51,707<\/p>\n T-46: Hennie du Plessis, E\/280, $51,707<\/p>\n T-46: Josele Ballester, E\/280, $51,707<\/p>\n T-46: Jon Rahm, E\/280, $51,707<\/p>\n T-53: Ryo Hisatsune, +1\/281 , $45,183<\/p>\n T-53: Michael Brennan, +1\/281 , $45,183<\/p>\n T-53: Shaun Norris, +1\/281 , $45,183<\/p>\n T-53: Sahith Theegala, +1\/281 , $45,183<\/p>\n T-53: Alex Smalley, +1\/281 , $45,183<\/p>\n T-53: Eric Cole, +1\/281, $45,183<\/p>\n T-59: Ben Griffin, +2\/282, $43,025<\/p>\n T-59: Aldrich Potgieter, +2\/282, $43,025<\/p>\n T-59: Min Woo Lee, +2\/282, $43,025<\/p>\n T-59: Nick Taylor, +2\/282, $43,025<\/p>\n T-59: Naoyuki Kataoka, +2\/282, $43,025<\/p>\n T-59: Johnny Keefer, +2\/282, $43,025<\/p>\n T-65: Peter Uihlein, +3\/283, $41,988<\/p>\n T-65: Justin Thomas, +3\/283, $41,988<\/p>\n T-67: Nico Echavarria, +4\/284, $41,350<\/p>\n T-67: Sepp Straka, +4\/284, $41,350<\/p>\n T-69: Andy Sullivan, +5\/285, $40,800<\/p>\n T-69: Tyrrell Hatton, +5\/285, $40,800<\/p>\n T-71: Laurie Canter, +6\/286, $40,450<\/p>\n T-71: MJ Daffue, +6\/286, $40,450<\/p>\n T-71: Alex Fitzpatrick, +6\/286, $40,450<\/p>\n T-74: Keegan Bradley, +7\/287, $40,075<\/p>\n T-74: Kazuki Higa, +7\/287, $40,075<\/p>\n T-74: Marcus Plunkett, +7\/287, $40,075<\/p>\n 77: Jack McDonald, +8\/288, $39,825<\/p>\n 78: Jesper Svensson, +9\/289, $39,700<\/p>\n Non-qualifiers after two rounds: Leading 10 professional golfers and ties USD 12,900; next 20 professional golfers and ties USD 10,750; remainder of professional golfers and ties USD 9,100.<\/p>\n
PGA<\/a>:\u00a0$20.5 million\/$3.69 million
U.S. Open<\/a>:\u00a0$22.5 million\/$4.5 million<\/p>\n
1954:\u00a0\u00a33,500, \u00a3750\/$1,000 (Peter Thomson)
1961:\u00a0\u00a38,500, \u00a31,150\/$1,538 (Arnold Palmer)
1965:\u00a0\u00a310,000, \u00a31,750\/$2,340 (Peter Thomson)
1971:\u00a0\u00a345,000, \u00a35,500\/$7,356 (Lee Trevino)
1976:\u00a0\u00a375,000, \u00a37,500\/$10K (Johnny Miller)
1983:\u00a0\u00a3310,000, \u00a340,000\/$53.5K (Tom Watson)
1991:\u00a0\u00a3900,000, \u00a390,000\/$120K (Ian Baker-Finch)
1998:\u00a0\u00a31.8 million, \u00a3300,000\/$401K (Mark O\u2019Meara
2008:\u00a0\u00a34.2 million, \u00a3750,000\/$1M (Padraig Harrington)
2017:\u00a0$10.25 million, $1.845 million (Jordan Spieth)
*Dollars before 2017 figured using exchange rate of $1 equal to \u00a30.75. The R&A began paying prize money in American dollars in 2017.<\/p>\n