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SOUTHPORT, England — The reward for winning the British Open just got a little more … rewardier. The R&A announced that this year’s “champion golfer of the year”—New Zealand's Ryan Fox—will receive $3.2 million from an overall prize money payout at Royal Birkdale of $17.75 million. That’s a bump of $100,000 and a $750,000, respectively, from 2025 at Royal Portrush.
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’s mission of growing the came at a grassroots level.
Darbon echoed that sentiment Wednesday, noting the importance of rewarding players in this iconic championship while also balancing the R&A's other interests:
"We look at prize money as part of a broader package that we offer here at The Open Championship. We've also increased and continued to increase our investment into the player experience, and we're very proud of the fact that we consistently get told by the players that the experience—the facilities, the services, the support—that we offer during Open Championship week sets the benchmark for the rest of golf. We're intent on ensuring that that continues to remain the case.
"So prize money is but one component of that comparison. At the same time, we're 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's really important for us, and we think we're finding the right balance."
Despite Darbon’s lament, the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open each increased their prize money payouts in 2026. Here’s where their paydays are right now:
Masters: $22.5 million/$4.5 million PGA: $20.5 million/$3.69 million U.S. Open: $22.5 million/$4.5 million
Mind you, claiming the moniker “champion golfer of the year” and having possession of the claret jug might be worth even more in the long run than the payday the winner will claim.
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’s how much the winners at Royal Birkdale over earned over time, in part mirroring the overall rise.
Year, Overall Purse, Winner’s Share 1954: £3,500, £750/$1,000 (Peter Thomson) 1961: £8,500, £1,150/$1,538 (Arnold Palmer) 1965: £10,000, £1,750/$2,340 (Peter Thomson) 1971: £45,000, £5,500/$7,356 (Lee Trevino) 1976: £75,000, £7,500/$10K (Johnny Miller) 1983: £310,000, £40,000/$53.5K (Tom Watson) 1991: £900,000, £90,000/$120K (Ian Baker-Finch) 1998: £1.8 million, £300,000/$401K (Mark O’Meara 2008: £4.2 million, £750,000/$1M (Padraig Harrington) 2017: $10.25 million, $1.845 million (Jordan Spieth) *Dollars before 2017 figured using exchange rate of $1 equal to £0.75. The R&A began paying prize money in American dollars in 2017.
Here’s the prize money payouts for everybody who will play 72 holes this week. Come back shortly after the championship ends and we’ll update this list with names and individual prize money payouts.
More From Golf Digest
Win: Ryan Fox, -10/270, $3,200,000
2: Cameron Young, -9/271, $1,842,000
3: Sam Burns, -8/272, $1,181,000
T-4: Scottie Scheffler, -7/273, $827,500
T-4: Tommy Fleetwood, -7/273, $827,500
T-6: Lucas Herbert, -6/274, $550,883
T-6: Casey Jarvis, -6/274, $550,883
T-6: Si Woo Kim, -6/274, $550,883
T-9: Ryan Gerard, -5/275, $336,380
T-9: Ludvig Aberg, -5/275, $336,380
T-9: Adam Scott, -5/275, $336,380
T-9: Russell Henley, -5/275, $336,380
T-9: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, -5/275, $336,380
T-14: Corey Conners, -4/276 , $234,325
T-14: Sungjae Im, -4/276 , $234,325
T-14: Hideki Matsuyama, -4/276 , $234,325
T-14: Bryson DeChambeau, -4/276 , $234,325
T-18: Rickie Fowler, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Chris Gotterup, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Bud Cauley, -3/277, $164,575
More From Golf Digest
T-18: Marco Penge, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Alex Noren, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Collin Morikawa, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Kristoffer Reitan, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Daniel Brown, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Jordan Smith, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Xander Schauffele, -3/277, $164,575
T-28: John Parry, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Victor Perez, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Patrick Cantlay, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Brooks Koepka, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Pierceson Coody, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Robert MacIntyre, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Jacob Bridgeman, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Max Homa, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Shane Lowry, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Cameron John, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Kazuma Kobori, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Jackon Suber, -2/278, $102,817
T-40: Thomas Detry, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: J.J. Spaun, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: Kurt Kitayama, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: Michael Thorbjornsen, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: Matt Wallace, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: Rory McIlroy, -1/279, $69,750
T-46: Matthew Southgate, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Eugenio Chacarra, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Patrick Reed, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Francesco Molinari, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Hennie du Plessis, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Josele Ballester, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Jon Rahm, E/280, $51,707
T-53: Ryo Hisatsune, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Michael Brennan, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Shaun Norris, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Sahith Theegala, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Alex Smalley, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Eric Cole, +1/281, $45,183
T-59: Ben Griffin, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Aldrich Potgieter, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Min Woo Lee, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Nick Taylor, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Naoyuki Kataoka, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Johnny Keefer, +2/282, $43,025
T-65: Peter Uihlein, +3/283, $41,988
T-65: Justin Thomas, +3/283, $41,988
T-67: Nico Echavarria, +4/284, $41,350
T-67: Sepp Straka, +4/284, $41,350
T-69: Andy Sullivan, +5/285, $40,800
T-69: Tyrrell Hatton, +5/285, $40,800
T-71: Laurie Canter, +6/286, $40,450
T-71: MJ Daffue, +6/286, $40,450
T-71: Alex Fitzpatrick, +6/286, $40,450
T-74: Keegan Bradley, +7/287, $40,075
T-74: Kazuki Higa, +7/287, $40,075
T-74: Marcus Plunkett, +7/287, $40,075
77: Jack McDonald, +8/288, $39,825
78: Jesper Svensson, +9/289, $39,700
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.
• • •
Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
Continue reading...
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’s mission of growing the came at a grassroots level.
Darbon echoed that sentiment Wednesday, noting the importance of rewarding players in this iconic championship while also balancing the R&A's other interests:
"We look at prize money as part of a broader package that we offer here at The Open Championship. We've also increased and continued to increase our investment into the player experience, and we're very proud of the fact that we consistently get told by the players that the experience—the facilities, the services, the support—that we offer during Open Championship week sets the benchmark for the rest of golf. We're intent on ensuring that that continues to remain the case.
"So prize money is but one component of that comparison. At the same time, we're 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's really important for us, and we think we're finding the right balance."
Despite Darbon’s lament, the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open each increased their prize money payouts in 2026. Here’s where their paydays are right now:
Masters: $22.5 million/$4.5 million PGA: $20.5 million/$3.69 million U.S. Open: $22.5 million/$4.5 million
Mind you, claiming the moniker “champion golfer of the year” and having possession of the claret jug might be worth even more in the long run than the payday the winner will claim.
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’s how much the winners at Royal Birkdale over earned over time, in part mirroring the overall rise.
Year, Overall Purse, Winner’s Share 1954: £3,500, £750/$1,000 (Peter Thomson) 1961: £8,500, £1,150/$1,538 (Arnold Palmer) 1965: £10,000, £1,750/$2,340 (Peter Thomson) 1971: £45,000, £5,500/$7,356 (Lee Trevino) 1976: £75,000, £7,500/$10K (Johnny Miller) 1983: £310,000, £40,000/$53.5K (Tom Watson) 1991: £900,000, £90,000/$120K (Ian Baker-Finch) 1998: £1.8 million, £300,000/$401K (Mark O’Meara 2008: £4.2 million, £750,000/$1M (Padraig Harrington) 2017: $10.25 million, $1.845 million (Jordan Spieth) *Dollars before 2017 figured using exchange rate of $1 equal to £0.75. The R&A began paying prize money in American dollars in 2017.
Here’s the prize money payouts for everybody who will play 72 holes this week. Come back shortly after the championship ends and we’ll update this list with names and individual prize money payouts.
More From Golf Digest
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British Open 2026 British Open 2026: Reigning champ Scottie Scheffler gets deep (and just a little morbid) at Birkdale
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The Open British Open 2026: Matt Fitzpatrick joins growing chorus of players concerned about gambling
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British Open British Open 2026: It appears we're in for a firm, fast, old-school Open at Royal Birkdale Win: Ryan Fox, -10/270, $3,200,000
2: Cameron Young, -9/271, $1,842,000
3: Sam Burns, -8/272, $1,181,000
T-4: Scottie Scheffler, -7/273, $827,500
T-4: Tommy Fleetwood, -7/273, $827,500
T-6: Lucas Herbert, -6/274, $550,883
T-6: Casey Jarvis, -6/274, $550,883
T-6: Si Woo Kim, -6/274, $550,883
T-9: Ryan Gerard, -5/275, $336,380
T-9: Ludvig Aberg, -5/275, $336,380
T-9: Adam Scott, -5/275, $336,380
T-9: Russell Henley, -5/275, $336,380
T-9: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, -5/275, $336,380
T-14: Corey Conners, -4/276 , $234,325
T-14: Sungjae Im, -4/276 , $234,325
T-14: Hideki Matsuyama, -4/276 , $234,325
T-14: Bryson DeChambeau, -4/276 , $234,325
T-18: Rickie Fowler, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Chris Gotterup, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Bud Cauley, -3/277, $164,575
More From Golf Digest
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Instruction British Open 2026: Rory McIlroy's range wind golf swing problem, explained
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History lesson The bizarre, hilarious end of the 1971 British Open film: A minute-by-minute breakdown
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British Open Preview The secret to links golf? It’s not technical T-18: Marco Penge, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Alex Noren, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Collin Morikawa, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Kristoffer Reitan, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Daniel Brown, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Jordan Smith, -3/277, $164,575
T-18: Xander Schauffele, -3/277, $164,575
T-28: John Parry, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Victor Perez, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Patrick Cantlay, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Brooks Koepka, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Pierceson Coody, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Robert MacIntyre, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Jacob Bridgeman, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Max Homa, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Shane Lowry, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Cameron John, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Kazuma Kobori, -2/278, $102,817
T-28: Jackon Suber, -2/278, $102,817
T-40: Thomas Detry, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: J.J. Spaun, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: Kurt Kitayama, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: Michael Thorbjornsen, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: Matt Wallace, -1/279, $69,750
T-40: Rory McIlroy, -1/279, $69,750
T-46: Matthew Southgate, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Eugenio Chacarra, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Patrick Reed, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Francesco Molinari, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Hennie du Plessis, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Josele Ballester, E/280, $51,707
T-46: Jon Rahm, E/280, $51,707
T-53: Ryo Hisatsune, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Michael Brennan, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Shaun Norris, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Sahith Theegala, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Alex Smalley, +1/281 , $45,183
T-53: Eric Cole, +1/281, $45,183
T-59: Ben Griffin, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Aldrich Potgieter, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Min Woo Lee, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Nick Taylor, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Naoyuki Kataoka, +2/282, $43,025
T-59: Johnny Keefer, +2/282, $43,025
T-65: Peter Uihlein, +3/283, $41,988
T-65: Justin Thomas, +3/283, $41,988
T-67: Nico Echavarria, +4/284, $41,350
T-67: Sepp Straka, +4/284, $41,350
T-69: Andy Sullivan, +5/285, $40,800
T-69: Tyrrell Hatton, +5/285, $40,800
T-71: Laurie Canter, +6/286, $40,450
T-71: MJ Daffue, +6/286, $40,450
T-71: Alex Fitzpatrick, +6/286, $40,450
T-74: Keegan Bradley, +7/287, $40,075
T-74: Kazuki Higa, +7/287, $40,075
T-74: Marcus Plunkett, +7/287, $40,075
77: Jack McDonald, +8/288, $39,825
78: Jesper Svensson, +9/289, $39,700
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.
• • •
Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
Continue reading...
