Next month's Open Championship at St Andrews will be very much a case of 'who wants to be a millionaire?' after the Royal & Ancient announced that the top prize for the game's oldest major will break the £1 million barrier for the first time in its history.
The winner in the home of golf will walk away with a tidy cheque for £1,150,000, up £175,000 on the prize at Hoylake last year. This rise will make the Open Championship the most lucrative major on the rota by £10,000, with the Masters, the US Open and the US PGA all boasting a first prize of £1,140,000. Back in 1873, when Tom Kidd won the first Open to be held at St Andrews, he squirrelled away the princely sum of £11. In those days, of course, Kidd probably could have bought a galleon and half the Kingdom of Fife with that.
In total, this year's Open treasure chest will be worth £6.3 million, an increase of £900,000 on the 2014 bounty.
Given the millions that will be pouring into the R&A coffers through the new lucrative deals with Sky Television and NBC over the next few years, it's hardly surprising that the Open has been given a major financial fillip.
"The Open is one of the world's pre-eminent sporting events," said Peter Dawson, the R&A's chief executive, who retires from his post later this year and will leave the governing body's flagship event in rude health. "The Championship represents the pinnacle for the world's greatest golfers and this increase is appropriate for an event with the Open's global appeal."
A quarter of a century ago, when Nick Faldo won the Claret Jug over the Old Course in 1990, the Englishman received £85,000. The player who finishes 15th next month will earn a similar amount.
By making the cut, a professional will be guaranteed a minimum of £9,000 while simply making up the numbers and playing two rounds will get you £3,000.
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