The winner of the 152nd British Open at Royal Troon (Scotland) will receive $3.1 million in prize money. The ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ will receive the highest amount in the history of the Open, which returns for the tenth time to the links located in the county of Ayrshire.
British Open, schedule
The R&A has announced that the total endowment for the Open, which will be played from July 18 to 21, will be $17 million, which represents an increase of $500,000 compared to 2023. Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A, said in a statement to the media: “The R&A has a responsibility to strike a balance between maintaining The Open’s position in global sport, providing the necessary funding for governance and developing the game of golf.
amateur and recreational in 146 countries internationally. We have to make decisions if we are to continue to build on the significant growth in participation that is essential for the future of golf. We remain concerned about the impact that the substantial increases in men’s professional awards are having.
in the perception of the sport and its long-term financial sustainability. We are pursuing our goal of ensuring that golf continues to thrive in 50 years’ time. The tournament was first played in October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club on the west coast of Scotland, with eight participants competing in a single day over a distance of 36 holes.
The competition was born as an attempt to identify the new golf champion following the death of Allan Robertson, considered the best player of his era and who passed away in 1859; the first winner was Willie Park Sr., who beat Tom Morris Sr.
by two shots. The following year the tournament also became open to non-professional players. From 1871 the Open was not organized by Prestwick Golf Club alone, but the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers of Muirfiled were added; the Royal and Ancient Golf Club became the only organizer of the tournament since 1920.[4] In 1892 the competition was extended to 72 holes, while two years later the first edition of an Open outside Scotland was held, at the Royal St George’s Golf Club, in England; in 1898 the cut was introduced after two laps of the field.
The tournament has always been played since 1860 except for four occasions: in 1871, when no agreement was reached on the new prize for the champion; between 1915 and 1919 due to World War I, between 1939 and 1946 due to World War II, and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it has, as of 2023, 151 editions.