How Much Money Will the 2021 British Open Winner Take Home?
The final round of the final major championship of the year is upon us, and boy do we have a fun one in store. Entering Sunday’s round at the 2021 British Open, Louis Oosthuizen holds the outright lead at 12-under par, but Collin Morikawa (-11) and Jordan Spieth (-9) are in hot pursuit.
The iconic Claret Jug is in play for a handful of golfers at the top of the leaderboard this weekend. So, how much money will the eventual winner take home from Royal St. George’s?
The 2021 British Open features a record $11.5 million purse
Before this year, the largest purse for an Open Championship was $10.75 million back in 2019. But golf is an ever-growing sport, and the constant increase in popularity has been pushing prize money to a place we’ve never seen before.
At Royal St. George’s this weekend, The Open features an $11.5 million purse, which will mark the largest ever given out at golf’s oldest major championship. A top-20 finish at this year’s British Open can earn you a hefty full-year salary for us regular folk.
The player who finishes in 20th place will win $120,000 this weekend. And 10th place? That’s good for $238,500. Obviously, the winnings only get more lucrative from there. A fifth-place finish will bring a $480,000 payday, and the runner-up will receive $1,198,000.
But what about the winner?
How much money will the 2021 British Open winner take home?
The goal of every player in the 2021 Open Championship field is to win the Claret Jug and write their name in the golf history books forever. It’s not the money that motivates these players to go win a major championship, but it sure is a nice bonus.
The eventual winner of the 2021 British Open at Royal St. George’s will take home $2,070,000, according to Golf Digest, which is a record prize in the 149-year history of the championship. It’s the first time in Open history that the winner will bank more than $2 million. Shane Lowry, the winner of the 2019 British Open, took home $1,935,000 after his impressive triumph at Royal Portrush.
The $2,070,000 prize at The Open is the same amount Hideki Matsuyama won at the Masters earlier this year. Phil Mickelson, the winner of the PGA Championship earlier this year, won $2,160,000 for his historic win. But Jon Rahm, the winner of the U.S. Open last month, earned the biggest payday of all the 2021 major championship winners with $2,250,000.
Who’s in the hunt for the record Open Championship payout?
Louis Oosthuizen, after finishing in second place at both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship this year, is back at the top of a major leaderboard this weekend. He enters the final round of the British Open with a one-shot lead at 12-under par.
But Collin Morikawa is right on his tail at 11-under par coming into Sunday. The 24-year-old phenom already has a major championship under his belt, so he won’t have any fear at Royal St. George’s this Sunday.
Jordan Spieth (-9), Corey Conners (-8), Scottie Scheffler (-8), and Jon Rahm (-7) are all in the hunt entering the final round, and Brooks Koepka is already making an early charge up the leaderboard.
This should be fun.
