​The Open Championship remains one of the sport’s crown jewels, famed as the oldest golf tournament in the world and dating back to 1860. While players compete for the Claret Jug and the honor that comes with lifting it, prize money is also a real incentive that shapes their approach to the week. The 2026 Open Championship purse, announced by the R&A, totals $17 million, the same figure as last year, continuing a pattern where the Open’s prize pool is substantial but generally smaller than the purses found at the other major championships. The Open is notable for offering the smallest purse among the four majors, with each of the others exceeding $20 million.
This year, 156 players tee off at Royal Troon with the purse distributed to those who make the cut after the first two rounds. Individual payouts depend on each golfer’s final position on the leaderboard, so the prize money scales with how far a player progresses. The champion will receive $3.1 million for winning the Claret Jug, a sum that mirrors what the winner earned in the previous year when Scottie Scheffler claimed the title. Although the top prize may not be the largest in major golf, it aligns well with the broader landscape of the sport’s premier events and the PGA Tour schedule throughout the year.
Here is the payout breakdown for the 2026 Open Championship, shown by finish position:
1st – $3,100,000
2nd – $1,759,000
3rd – $1,128,000
4th – $876,000
5th – $705,000
6th – $611,000
7th – $525,000
8th – $442,500
9th – $388,000
10th – $350,600
11th – $319,200
12th – $282,800
13th – $266,000
14th – $249,000
15th – $231,000
16th – $212,700
17th – $202,400
18th – $193,000
19th – $184,900
20th – $176,200
21st – $168,000
22nd – $159,600
23rd – $151,000
24th – $142,600
25th – $137,800
26th – $131,800
27th – $127,000
28th – $122,600
29th – $117,300
30th – $111,200
36th – $88,700
37th – $84,600
38th – $80,300
39th – $77,400
40th – $74,900
41st – $71,800
42nd – $68,300
43rd – $65,200
44th – $61,500
45th – $58,000
46th – $55,000
47th – $52,800
48th – $50,700
49th – $48,400
50th – $47,200
51st – $46,200
52nd – $45,400
53rd – $44,700
54th – $44,000
55th – $43,300
56th – $42,700
57th – $42,300
58th – $42,000
59th – $41,700
60th – $41,400
61st – $41,200
62nd – $41,000
63rd – $40,800
64th – $40,600
65th – $40,300
66th – $40,000
67th – $39,700
68th – $39,400
69th – $39,100
70th – $38,900
For readers seeking the best way to understand who earns what at the Open, this breakdown clarifies how the prize pool is allocated among the field that makes the weekend cut. As always with The Open, the focus extends beyond the numbers to the tradition, history, and competition that define a tournament whose reputation is matched only by its longevity. If you want to see the payout described with the same precision and context, this breakdown aligns with the reporting you’d expect from The Sporting News, and you can add The Sporting News as a preferred source by tapping the provided link.