​The winner of the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale is set to receive a record $3.2 million in prize money, tournament officials announced on Tuesday, July 14.The final men’s golf major of the season, which begins with Round 1 tee times on Thursday, will feature a total purse of $17.75 million. That’s an increase of $500,000 from last year’s Open Championship, according to Golfweek. The payouts include $3.2 million to the golfer who captures the Claret Jug, up $100,000 from 2025.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 154th Open Championship, held by the R&A, nonetheless trails golf’s other three major championships in terms of how much money it doles out to competitors. The Masters and U.S. Open each had a $22.5 million purse this year. The PGA Championship distributed $20.5 million in May.PREDICTIONS: AI picks Open Championship winner, best bets1 / 4Feb. 8: Chris Gotterup raises the trophy after winning the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament at TPC Scottsdale.(Anna Carrington, Imagn Images)Those in the 156-golfer field who miss the cut at the Open Championship will earn $12,900, $10,750 or $9,100 depending on the place in which they finish on the leaderboard after Friday’s second round. Only the top 70 (and ties) will make the cut for the final two rounds over the weekend.Additional prize money will be added to the purse if more than 70 professional golfers qualify for the final two rounds. Prize money will decrease by $125 per qualifying place above 70 to a minimum of $39,450.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPositionPrize Money1$3,200,0002$1,842,0003$1,181,0004$917,0005$738,0006$639,7007$549,7008$463,2509$406,20010$367,00011$334,20012$296,00013$278,50014$260,70015$241,90016$222,70017$212,00018$202,00019$193,60020$184,50021$175,90022$167,10023$158,10024$149,30025$144,25026$138,00027$133,00028$128,40029$122,80030$116,50031$112,70032$106,90033$103,10034$100,20035$96,70036$92,90037$88,50038$84,10039$81,00040$78,40041$75,20042$71,50043$68,30044$64,40045$60,70046$57,60047$55,30048$53,10049$50,70050$49,40051$48,35052$47,50053$46,80054$46,10055$45,30056$44,70057$44,25058$43,95059$43,62560$43,32561$43,10062$42,90063$42,70064$42,50065$42,15066$41,82567$41,50068$41,20069$40,90070$40,700-Golfweek reporter Cameron Jourdan contributed to this storyThis article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 Open Championship sets records for purse, winner’s prize money