Open Championship payout distribution 2026: Prize money and purse at Royal Birkdale

The Open Championship always seems to deliver drama on Sunday, and it was no different at Royal Birkdale this week. Sam Burns came into the final round with a two-shot lead, but things quickly got bunched. Cameron Young went out much earlier than the leaders, but posted a 6-under round to put 9-under for the tournament in the clubhouse. And as Burns, Si Woo Kim and Ryan Fox either faded a bit or failed to make up any ground, that gave Young a chance to win his first major championship and a lucrative bit of prize money coming out of The Open. But then, Ryan Fox wouldn't go away, surging on his back nine to take back control and win the Claret Jug with a birdie on the 18th hole.

British Open payouts are the smallest of the four major championships, sure. However, The Open still awards life-changing prize money to the winner and the top finishers in this event every year. Let's break it all down, starting with the winner's share and then a full Open Championship payout distribution for every spot on the leaderboard.

Open Championship winner's prize money, total purse for 2026

The winner of the 2026 British Open, Ryan Fox, will take home $3.2 million in prize money this week at Royal Birkdale, which is the largest winner's share ever handed out by the R&A and The Open. That's because we also have a record-setting $17.75 million total purse hanging in the balance this week at The Open Championship.

While The Open doesn't have nearly the same level of prize money available as the other three majors, or even in comparison to The Players Championship and signature events on the PGA Tour, it's still not prize money that anyone should be scoffing at, especially with the prestige that comes along with playing well in this tournament.

Open Championship payout distribution by finishing position

Again, this isn't necessarily ludicrous prize money in the golf world these days. We routinely see purses at or above $20 million, and winners' payouts over $4 million. At the same time, though, let's not scoff at the top three players all clearing $1 million in prize money this week at The Open, or the fact that, before ties, every player inside the Top 34 on the leaderboard will end up taking home at least six figures this week.

But one of the cool things about The Open Championship is that it's not just the 78 players who made the cut this week that will receive prize money. Obviously, amateurs in the field won't get paid, but even professionals who just qualified for the Birtish Open will still take home some form of payout for the week, with a unique structure put together by the R&A.

Payouts for players who missed the cut at The Open Championship

Every professional who failed to make the cut at The Open will still receive some prize money. Here's how that payout structure breaks down, which actually does make players' score to par before missing the cut relevant as there is a descending payout scale:

• Professionals with the 10 best scores and ties: $12,900
• Next 20 professionals and ties who missed the cut: $10,750
• Rest of the professionals who missed the cut: $9,100

While every one of these players would surely prefer to have played the weekend at The Open Championship this week, the fact that they won't be going home completely empty-handed does ultimately feel like a good thing that the R&A tries to do, especially with the multiple avenues and difficulty it takes to qualify for this major championship.

Open Championship purse and winners in the last 5 years

The increase to the record-setting $17.75 million purse this year is somewhat marginal, but a look just over the last five years shows just how much the winner's prize money and the total amount of money paid out has increased. The purse at The Open Championship has increased $6.25 million just since Collin Morikawa's win at Royal St George's back in 2021.

Even crazier than that, if you go back just 10 years prior to when Henrik Stenson outlasted Phil Mickelson in an iconic British Open at Royal Troon, the total purse for that event was just $6.5 million, with the winner getting just $1.175 million. Not only has the total purse increased more than $10 million since that point, but the third-place finisher at The Open in 2026 will receive more than Stenson made for his victory.

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