US Open payout distribution 2024: Prize money, purse

Anything you could've wanted at the 2024 US Open has absolutely been there. If you want big names contending, just look at the top of the leaderboard. Bryson DeChambeau entered Sunday with a three-shot lead but just behind him are the likes of Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Hideki Matsuyama and Ludvig Åberg, along with an upstart sleeper in Matthieu Pavon. And how we got here has been dramatic.

Pinehurst No. 2 has been almost an ideal USGA test for the 2024 US Open. It's extremely difficult with trouble lurking on all 18 holes if you hit a bad shot. But if you play smart, if you play disciplined and you play well, it's a fair test. You can be rewarded. With that, we get a chance to see the best golfers in the world try to survive or hang on.

And with this test, the 2024 US Open purse is the biggest that we've ever seen from the USGA and America's national open. How much prize money is on the line, though? Let's break down everything about the payout distribution, prize money and so on with a truly ridiculous amount of money on the line this week at Pinehurst.

US Open purse 2024: Winner's prize money, total purse

The winner of the 2024 US Open will receive a monstrous $4.3 million for their win. As of now, this is the second biggest winner's prize money we'll see on the PGA Tour schedule this year for a single tournament behind only THE PLAYERS Championship ($4.5 million). This comes with the US Open purse being set at a whopping $21.5 million, a record-setting mark for major championships and, again, the second largest purse we've seen on the PGA Tour slate this season.

US Open payout distribution by finishing position in 2024

Here's a look at the full US Open payout structure this week at Pinehurst. 74 players made the cut but three of them are amateurs who won't see any of the prize money, so we only have the Top 71 getting paid here.

With the record-setting purse for the 2024 US Open, we see how much that benefits every player to make the cut in terms of prize money. Any finisher inside of the top four will get at least a $1 million payout for the week. Meanwhile, every professional but one to make the cut will make at least $39,000, not to mention that the Top 37 players on the leaderboard will all mke six-figures this week at Pinehurst.

US Open purse, winner's prize money from the past five years

As the 2024 US Open purse is a record-high number, let's take a look at how the purse and winner's prize money has increased over the past five years.

In just four short years with the way prize money has exploded in golf -- no doubt a reaction to LIV Golf's absurd payouts and financial incentives -- we've seen the US Open purse increase $9 million and the winner's prize money nearly double as well. It's far more lucrative than it's ever been to win a major, adding a payday in addition to etching a name among the greats in the game of golf.