Open Championship boosts prize pool to $16.5M

The prize for second place at the Open Championship increased to a record $1.708 million with the winner of next week's event at Royal Liverpool taking home $3 million.

The champion's payout for Cameron Smith was $2.5 million in 2022, when the total prize pool was $14 million. There's a sum of $16.5 million at stake at the 2023 Open.

Since 2016, the Open Championship prize has nearly doubled.

"We believe that getting this balance right is vital to the long-term future of the sport," Royal & Ancient CEO Martin Slumbers said in a statement Wednesday.

Golf majors hiked winnings across the board and the $20 million total prize at the U.S. Open was the largest in golf history. The Masters increased to $18 million and the PGA Championship pool was $17.5 million.

Those tournaments paid more to the winner, with Wyndham Clark's first major title at the U.S. Open paying out $3.6 million and Masters champion Jon Rahm earning a $3.24 million check at Augusta National.