There are lots of benefits that come with being a major champion, but if money means a lot to you, you’ll likely find the paycheck for winning golf’s oldest championship to be outrageously awesome.
In 2017, Jordan Spieth brought home $1.845 million — $295,410 more than Henrik Stenson pocketed the year before. The winner in 2018 will bring home even more than Spieth did last year (check out the breakdown below).
The winner also gets 100 World Ranking points, which can easily catapult him into the rankings’ elite zone — meaning invitations to World Golf Championships, where there is no cut and thus, a continued flow of money.
And speaking of points, a British Open win is worth 600 PGA Tour FedEx Cup points, so a player will be well on his way to qualifying for the BMW Championship and Tour Championship at the end of the season — two more tournaments with no cut. And for players hoping to make this year’s Ryder Cup team, points-earning power is doubled at the British Open and other major championships. (The European team qualifies via World Ranking points and money earned in European Tour events, which include the major championships.)
Now for the exemptions. A British Open win punches your ticket back into the Britsh Open until you’re 60 years old — a potentially decades-long deal. You also get a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and a five-year exemption into the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship. Another perk? You receive an invitation to the following year’s Tournament of Champions, which takes place in Maui at the Kapaula Resort during the first week of January and is reserved only for PGA Tour winners. Oh yeah — there’s no cut in that event either.
The winner of the British Open also receives a replica of the iconic Claret Jug, more formally known as the Golf Champion Trophy, a gold medal, and the enviable title of “Champion Golfer of the Year.” In short, not a bad haul for four days of good golf!
PAYOUT BREAKDOWN (TOP 70)
1. $1,890,000
2. $1,093,000
3. $701,000
4. $545,000
5. $438,000
6. $380,000
7. $326,000
8. $275,000
9. $241,000
10.$218,000
11. $198,000
12. $176,000
13. $165,000
14. $155,000
15. $144,000
16. $132,500
17. $126,000
18. $120,000
19. $115,000
20. $109,500
21. $104,500
22. $99,000
23. $94,000
24. $89,000
25. $86,000
26. $82,000
27. $79,000
28. $76,000
29. $73,000
30. $69,500
31. $67,000
32. $63,500
33. $61,500
34. $59,500
35. $57,500
36. $55,000
37. $52,500
38. $50,000
39. $48,000
40. $46,500
41. $44,500
42. $42,500
43. $40,500
44. $38,500
45. $36,250
46. $34,250
47. $32,750
48. $31,500
49. $30,250
50. $29,500
51. $28,900
52. $28,300
53. $27,900
54. $27,450
55. $27,000
56. $26,600
57. $26,200
58. $26,100
59. $26,000
60. $25,800
61. $25,600
62. $25,500
63. $25,400
64. $25,300
65. $25,100
66. $25,000
67. $24,800
68. $24,600
69. $24,400
70. $24,175
