For the 10th time in its soon-to-be 152-year history, the Open Championship is being played at the Old Course at Royal Troon Golf Club in South Ayshire, on the west coast of Scotland, with 156 of the world's best players all hoping for glory in the last major of 2024.
Last year's champion, Brian Harman, collected his first major title at Royal Liverpool and is one of 20 former winners invited back and expected to compete at the 2024 Open at Royal Troon this weekend.
Only one player has won back-to-back Open Championship titles since the turn of the century — Tiger Woods in 2005 and 2006 — and Harman will certainly be up against it to join that exclusive club, not helped by the fact that this tournament moves to a different location on rotation each year.
The Sporting News breaks down the Open Championship purse and payout for the 2024 tournament below.
MORE: Where is Royal Troon? All the details about the 2024 Open Championship course
Open Championship tournament purse 2024
Staying the same as last year's purse after a $2.5 million increase from 2022's tournament, the prize fund for this year's Open Championship stands at $16.5 million in 2024.
The 2022 prize itself was another $2.5 million jump from the $11.5 million in 2021, after there was no tournament in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic.
While the winner at Royal Troon this year will pocket a significant share of that $16.5 million purse, the prize money is shared out accordingly across the highest-finishing players in the field, with the top three finishers the only ones to receive more than $1 million for their efforts.
Even with the increase in purse, the Open still trails the other majors in terms of total prize money:
- U.S. Open: $20 million
- Masters Tournament: $18 million
- PGA Championship: $17.5 million
- Open Championship: $16.5 million
How much money does the Open Championship winner get?
Just as Harman did last year art Royal Liverpool, this weekend's victor in Scotland will receive an eye-watering $3 million of the overall purse, and the runner-up and third-placed player are also given a healthy payout of $1.708 million and $1.095 million, respectively!
Therefore, this year's winner will take home 18.18 percent of the overall $16.5 million purse — not bad for four days' work!
MORE: 2024 Open Championship full schedule and tee times
What is the main prize at the 2024 Open Championship?
While winning a share of the massive $16.5 million prize fund is one of the major goals for anyone who qualifies for the Open Championship, it's lifting the famous Claret Jug that really shows that you're "Champion Golfer of the Year" as winner of the game's oldest continuous tournament.
Officially called The Golf Championship Trophy, the Claret Jug has been awarded to the winner of the Open Championship since 1872, and is actually made from (and therefore has the colour of) silver — its "claret" name comes from the fact it resembles a wine jug!
As the oldest trophy for the oldest major championship in the sport's history, the Claret Jug is synonymous with golf, and has even twice featured on £5 banknotes in Scotland.
2024 Open Championship full purse breakdown
Below are the payouts for top 70 placements at this year's Open Championship, with all 156 players keen to get their hands on both the Claret Jug and the top $3 million prize.
| Place | Projected payout |
| 1 | $3,000,000 |
| 2 | $1,708,000 |
| 3 | $1,095,000 |
| 4 | $851,000 |
| 5 | $684,500 |
| 6 | $593,000 |
| 7 | $509,500 |
| 8 | $429,700 |
| 9 | $377,000 |
| 10 | $340,500 |
| 11 | $310,000 |
| 12 | $274,700 |
| 13 | $258,300 |
| 14 | $241,800 |
| 15 | $224,800 |
| 16 | $206,600 |
| 17 | $196,600 |
| 18 | $187,500 |
| 19 | $179,600 |
| 20 | $171,100 |
| 21 | $163,100 |
| 22 | $155,000 |
| 23 | $146,700 |
| 24 | $138,500 |
| 25 | $133,800 |
| 26 | $128,000 |
| 27 | $123,300 |
| 28 | $119,100 |
| 29 | $113,900 |
| 30 | $108,000 |
| 31 | $104,500 |
| 32 | $99,200 |
| 33 | $95,700 |
| 34 | $93,000 |
| 35 | $89,800 |
| 36 | $86,200 |
| 37 | $82,200 |
| 38 | $78,000 |
| 39 | $75,200 |
| 40 | $72,800 |
| 41 | $69,800 |
| 42 | $66,400 |
| 43 | $63,400 |
| 44 | $59,800 |
| 45 | $56,400 |
| 46 | $53,400 |
| 47 | $51,300 |
| 48 | $49,300 |
| 49 | $47,000 |
| 50 | $45,900 |
| 51 | $44,900 |
| 52 | $44,100 |
| 53 | $43,400 |
| 54 | $42,800 |
| 55 | $42,100 |
| 56 | $41,500 |
| 57 | $41,100 |
| 58 | $40,800 |
| 59 | $40,500 |
| 60 | $40,200 |
| 61 | $40,000 |
| 62 | $39,800 |
| 63 | $39,600 |
| 64 | $39,400 |
| 65 | $39,200 |
| 66 | $38,900 |
| 67 | $38,600 |
| 68 | $38,300 |
| 69 | $38,000 |
| 70 | $32,200 |
In cases of a tie, winnings are divided based on the number of players who finish tied for the placement. For example, if four players tie for second, then they would each receive an equal cut of the total winnings from places second through fifth. That comes out to $1,084,625 apiece.
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