Golf Prize Money British Open

British Open Prize Money 2021: Total Purse Info for Royal St. George's Golf Club

July 15, 2021

Ian Walton/Associated Press

For the first time in two years, one golfer will soon be raising the Claret Jug as the winner of The Open Championship. The tournament, which was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, got underway Thursday at the Royal St. George's Golf Club in Kent, England.

This year's winner will also be taking home a bigger prize than Shane Lowry did when he won the last edition of the tournament in 2019. The R&A recently announced that the total purse for The Open Championship has increased to $11.5 million this year, with $2.07 million of that going to the winner.

"We have increased the prize fund for The Open this year and believe that it fully reflects the Championship's stature in world sport," R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said in a statement. "As the only men's major championship played outside of America, The Open has a global role to play and we are determined to continue to attract the top players."

Here's a breakdown of the top prizes that will be on the line for the 156 golfers in this year's field.

Prize Money Breakdown

1. $2.07 million

2. $1.198 million

3. $768,000

4. $597,000

5. $480,000

Full breakdown available at TheOpen.com

The top golfers in the world have returned to England to compete in The Open Championship, but it has been 10 years since the tournament was last held at Royal St. George's. Darren Clarke won the Claret Jug on that occasion in 2011.

This year marks the 15th time it's taking place at the course. With the action now underway, make sure to follow along with the live leaderboard at TheOpen.com.

While the tournament began earlier this morning, some of the top golfers in the field have yet to tee off. So there should be plenty of exciting action throughout the day as more of them hit the links.

Several former winners of The Open Tournament have later tee times for the first round. 2018 champion Francesco Molinari (8:15 a.m. ET), 2016 champion Henrik Stenson (10:32 a.m. ET), 2014 champion Rory McIlroy (10:21 a.m. ET) and 2013 champion Phil Mickelson (9:48 a.m. ET) are among recent winners soon heading to the greens.

After winning The Open Championship in 2014, McIlroy went on to win the PGA Championship a month later. However, the 32-year-old hasn't won at a major tournament since that stretch and has been stuck at four career major titles.

Clarke, whose lone major win came at Royal St. George's a decade ago, believes McIlroy is soon going to turn things around, perhaps even this weekend.

"There's no questioning his talent," Clarke said, per Keith Jackson of Sky Sports. "I think he's one of the most, if not the most, naturally gifted player in the world, so it's only a matter of time before he starts winning again."

Two more golfers to watch later in the day are Xander Schauffele (9:59 a.m. ET) and Justin Thomas (10:10 a.m. ET).

Schauffele has had numerous strong showings in major tournaments over the past five years, but he's still seeking his first career win. He tied for second at The Open Championship in 2018, marking his best finish at a major.

Thomas had his best career showing at The Open Championship in 2019, when he tied for 11th. His lone win at a major came at the 2017 PGA Championship, but he's coming off a solid showing at the U.S. Open last month, so he could potentially earn his first top-10 finish at The Open Championship.