By Ryan Herrington – July 16, 2025
While winning a major championship brings immense prestige—especially at the British Open with its iconic claret jug and the title of “Champion Golfer of the Year”—there’s also a significant financial reward. Scottie Scheffler claimed his fourth career major at Royal Portrush, dominating the competition to secure both the title and a $3.1 million payday.
This year, the R&A kept the total purse at $17 million, unchanged from the previous year. R&A’s new chief executive, Mark Darbon, emphasized concerns over rising prize money in professional golf, suggesting that ever-increasing payouts could undermine the financial health of organizations like the R&A that also fund broader golf initiatives. For context, the Open’s purse had increased annually since 2012—until now.
In comparison:
- Masters (2025): $21 million total / $4.2 million to the winner
- PGA Championship: $19 million / $3.42 million to the winner
- U.S. Open: $21.5 million / $4.3 million to the winner
To show how much things have changed, consider that in 1951—the last time before 2019 the Open was held at Portrush—Max Faulkner won just £300 from a £1,700 purse. Fast-forward to 2019, Shane Lowry earned $1.935 million from a $10.75 million purse.
Here’s the full payout for all golfers who completed all 72 holes at the 2025 British Open:
Top Finishers
- 1st: Scottie Scheffler – $3.1 million
- 2nd: Harris English (-13) – $1.759 million
- 3rd: Chris Gotterup (-12) – $1.128 million
- T-4: Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Haotong Li (-11) – $730,667 each
- T-7: Robert MacIntyre, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy (-10) – $451,833 each
- T-10: Bryson DeChambeau, Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Russell Henley (-9) – $304,650 each
- T-14: Rickie Fowler, Nicolai Hojgaard (-8) – $240,000 each
Notable Finishers
- T-16 (-7): Svensson, Matsuyama, Fleetwood, Parry, Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard, Hatton – $185,257 each
- T-23 (-6): McNealy, Spaun, Glover, Johnson, Aberg – $138,040 each
- T-28 (-5): Hall, Lindell – $119,950 each
- T-30 (-4): Berger, Bhatia, Bradley, Reitan – $104,850 each
- T-34 (-3): Garcia, Rai, Rahm, Thomas, Bezuidenhout, Westwood – $86,517 each
- T-40 (-2): Lowry, Spieth, Kokrak, Kanaya, Kimsey – $68,340 each
- T-45 (-1): M. Jordan, Detry, Stenson, J. Smith, Burns, Lawrence, Wallace – $51,186 each
- T-52 (E): Saddier, Straka, Leishman, Sungjae Im – $44,350 each
- T-56 (+1): Mickelson, Vegas, Finau – $42,333 each
- T-59 (+2): Rozner, Leonard – $41,550 each
- T-61 (+3): Burmester, Langasque – $41,100 each
- T-63 (+4): Kawamoto, Novak, Hovland, Johnston, Molinari – $40,280 each
- 68 (+6): Olesen – $39,400
- 69 (+8): Schmid – $39,100
- 70 (+11): Soderberg – $38,900
Missed Cut Payouts
- Top 10 and ties: $12,350
- Next 20 and ties: $10,300
- Remaining: $8,750
Despite the flat purse, the Open remains one of the most respected—and now one of the most lucrative—events in professional golf.
