R&A announces record prize fund for The Open

Cameron Smith will return as defending champion in The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool, exclusively live from July 20-23 on Sky Sports Golf; the Champion Golfer of the Year will receive the highest amount in the tournament’s history

Last Updated: 12/07/23 10:40am

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The waiting is almost over for the final men’s major of the year, with round-the-clock coverage from The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool live from July 20-23 on Sky Sports Golf

The winner of the 151st Open Championship will receive a record $3m (£2.3m) in prize money, the R&A has announced.

The first prize is $500,000 (£387k) more than Cameron Smith received for being crowned Champion Golfer of the Year at St Andrews last July, while the runner-up this year in Hoylake will earn $1.7m (£1.31m).

The R&A also announced that the total prize fund for the 2023 contest at Royal Liverpool, exclusively live from July 20-23 on Sky Sports, has also increased by 18 per cent to $16.5m.

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The best of the action from a thrilling final round of The 150th Open Championship last summer from St Andrews

Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A, said, “Our aim is to ensure The Open remains at the pinnacle of world golf and we have almost doubled the prize fund since 2016.

“While we are seeing substantial increases in prize money across the men’s professional game, we are fulfilling our wider obligation to the sport by elevating the AIG Women’s Open, strengthening pathways in the elite amateur game and encouraging more people around the world to play golf.

“We believe that getting this balance right is vital to the long-term future of the sport.”

The Masters had an $18m prize purse for the 2023 contest, with champion Jon Rahm collecting $3.24m, while Brooks Koepka claimed $3.15m of a total $17.5m fund when he won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in May.

The US Open has the biggest prize purse of the four men’s majors, seeing Wyndham Clark take home $3.6m of the $20m on offer in Los Angeles last month, with $20m the same purse the PGA Tour has been offering for the elevated events in the 2022-23 season.

When is The Open live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports will have round-the-clock coverage from The Open, live from July 20-23, with 80 hours of live programming across the tournament week and a host of extra programming available to enjoy.

Wall-to-wall coverage will begin from 6.30am for the first two tournament days on Thursday July 20 and Friday July 21, ahead of the opening tee shot at 6.35am, with the action live until 9pm for each of the opening two rounds.

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A look back at some of the best moments from The Open Zone over the course of The 150th Open Championship at St Andrews

Day three coverage begins at 9am and runs through until after the action is finished, with early play live on the red button as ‘Saturday at The Open’ offers updates from the course alongside shot centre challenges, special guests, fun features and much more, while the same offering stars from 8am for Sunday’s final round.

There is also lots of extra coverage available throughout each day via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, along with Sky Q and Sky Glass, with Featured Groups and Featured Hole feeds available to enjoy as the world’s best players tackle Royal Liverpool.

Watch The 151st Open throughout the week exclusively live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday July 20 from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf.