The winner of next week’s 150th Open will win a championship-record £2m (Sh283.6m).
That sum represents an increase of more than £300,000 (Sh42.5m) on the £1.7m (Sh241m) Collin Morikawa won in 2021 while the total purse for the game’s oldest major has risen by 22 per cent from last year to £11.2m (Sh1.5bn).
“There have been significant changes in prize money over the last year,” said R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers.
“We have therefore increased the prize fund by 22 per cent which means prize money has increased by more than 60 per cent since 2016.”
The significant rise in the purse for the landmark championship at St Andrews follows the launch of the lucrative Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf Series.
Charl Schwartzel received £3.86m (Sh547m) for his victory at the inaugural event in Hertfordshire in June.
In three days at the Centurion Club, the 37-year-old from Johannesburg, who won the 2011 Masters, earned a sum equal to the amount it has taken him the last four years to earn on the PGA Tour.
In June, it was announced that players who have joined the controversial LIV Golf series would be allowed to play at The Open.
The PGA Tour suspended 17 members who played in the inaugural event, including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, while the DP World Tour banned players who competed in the tournament from the Scottish Open and fined them £100,000.
“We have made this substantial investment while balancing our wider commitments to developing golf at all levels around the world and to continuing to elevate the AIG Women’s Open,” added Slumbers. The 150th Open, the final major of the men’s season, takes place in the Fife town from 14-17 July.
