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British Open 2022: R&A announces prize money increase

With each of the first three majors of the year announcing record prize money, the British Open 2022 is now also increasing the prize money.

One week before the start of the British Open 2022 in St. Andrews, the prize money for the 150th edition of the tournament was announced. The winner of this year’s Open will be able to take home over two million pounds for the first time, in addition to the Claret Jug. The total prize money of the last major in the calendar year will be increased by 22 per cent.

In concrete terms, this means a jump from 12.5 to 14 million US dollars in prize money, with which the R&A, the organising association of the British Open 2022, wants to do justice to the increased prize money last year.

“There have been significant changes in prize money over the last year. We have therefore increased the prize fund by 22% which means that the prize money has increased by more than 60% since 2016,” Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A said.

Competitive bidding by the organisers

By comparison, the US Masters and PGA Championship had both increased prize money to $15 million before this year’s editions. The US Open is the men’s major with the highest prize money at 17.5 million dollars, winner Matt Fitzpatrick received over three million dollars. The Players Championship, the flagship tournament of the PGA Tour, paid out 20 million dollars this year and 25 million dollars next year.

The drastic price increase is probably also linked to the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series, which lures stars to its tour with high sign-up bonuses and awards an additional 25 million dollars per tournament.

“We have made this substantial investment while balancing our wider commitments to developing golf at all levels around the world and to continuing to elevate the AIG Women’s Open.” Last year, the Association, together with the main sponsor, provided record prize money for the Women’s Major, which has since been surpassed by the US Women’s Open.

2022 British Open prize money

  1.  $2,500,000
  2.  $1,455,000
  3.  $933,000
  4.  $725,000
  5.  $583,000
  6.  $505,000
  7.  $434,000
  8.  $366,000
  9.  $321,000
  10.  $290,000
  11.  $264,000
  12.  $234,000
  13.  $220,000
  14.  $206,000
  15.  $191,500
  16.  $176,000
  17.  $167,500
  18.  $159,750
  19.  $153,000
  20.  $145,750
  21.  $139,000
  22.  $132,000
  23.  $125,000
  24.  $118,000
  25.  $114,000
  26.  $109,000
  27.  $105,000
  28.  $101,500
  29.  $97,000
  30.  $92,000
  31.  $89,000
  32.  $84,500
  33.  $81,500
  34.  $79,250
  35.  $76,500
  36.  $73,500
  37.  $70,000
  38.  $66,500
  39.  $64,000
  40.  $62,000
  41.  $59,500
  42.  $56,500
  43.  $54,000
  44.  $51,000
  45.  $48,000
  46.  $45,500
  47.  $43,700
  48.  $42,000
  49.  $40,000
  50.  $39,100
  51.  $38,200
  52.  $37,600
  53.  $37,000
  54.  $36,500
  55.  $35,900
  56.  $35,400
  57.  $35,000
  58.  $34,750
  59.  $34,500
  60.  $34,250
  61.  $34,000
  62.  $33,900
  63.  $33,750
  64.  $33,600
  65.  $33,400
  66.  $33,100
  67.  $32,900
  68.  $32,600
  69.  $32,400
  70.  $32,200