British Open purse 2016: Winner will take home $1.5 million in prize money

The stage is set for a tremendous finish at the 2016 Open Championship. The field will be competing for the prized Claret Jug and the title of Champion Golfer of the Year. Both titles are among the most sought after in the sport, but the winner will also be rewarded with a significant check thanks to a purse of more than $8.5 million. The winning share will be worth more than $1.5 million, which, for an American winner, is actually a significant dip from the previous year thanks to the falling pound after the UK voted to leave the European Union.

The purse of the Open is more in flux this year than it has been in a long time. The actual purse was increased £200,000, bringing it to £6.5 million. The only issue for the winners is recent events have caused the strength of the pound to diminish compared to the dollar so the winning share of $1.551 million is actually less than the winning share was last year, despite the overall purse increase. When Zach Johnson won the 2015 Open Championship, he took home $1.8 million. The event remains among the most prestigious in golf, but Brexit has caused the purse to be lesser than the other major championships, The Players Championship, and even the WGCs.

Even with the changes, the top seven finishers stand to take home more than a quarter of a million dollars. Ties will ultimately alter the final payouts significantly, but the purse is structured for the top 17 places to all take home six-figure prizes.

Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson have been the stars of the event thus far. Mickelson jumped into the lead on Thursday with a 63 and has remained at or near the top of the leaderboard since. Stenson made a strong run up the standings on Friday and overtook Mickelson for the lead on Saturday. The two have distanced themselves from the rest of the field and have set the stage for a head-to-head finish barring a collapse or a major surge from a distant contender.

Both Mickelson and Stenson are extremely well accomplished and moneyed players. Phil has made more than $80 million in on-course earnings during his career while Stenson has pocketed more than $22 million. Those figures don’t include all the off-course cash, reportedly around $50 million for Phil last year, and the $10 million bonus windfall that Stenson pocketed for winning the FedExCup. Despite their accomplishments, a win on Sunday would be the biggest payday for one single event of both player’s careers. Mickelson earned $1.4 million when he won the 2013 Open.

The payout may not be worth as much as the Masters or U.S. Open or PGA Championship this year, but there is still a major payday on the line on Sunday at the Open and the entire field will be chasing that and the Claret Jug. Given Stenson’s and Mickelson’s already overflowing bank accounts, the jug is the thing.

Here is a complete look at the payout for the remaining field, pending ties.

Place: Prize

1: $1,551,000
2: $891,000
3: $571,560
4: $444,840
5: $357,720
6: $310,200
7: $265,320
8: $224,400
9: $196,680
10: $178,200
11: $161,040
12: $143,550
13: $134,640
14: $126,060
15: $118,140
16: $108,240
17: $102,960
18: $97,680
19: $93,720
20: $89,760
21: $85,140
22: $81,180
23: $76,890
24: $72,600
25: $69,960
26: $66,990
27: $64,350
28: $62,040
29: $59,400
30: $57,090
31: $54,780
32: $51,810
33: $50,160
34: $48,510
35: $46,860
36: $44,880
37: $42,900
38: $40,920
39: $39,600
40: $37,950
41: $36,300
42: $34,650
43: $33,000
44: $31,350
45: $29,700
46: $28,380
47: $27,060
48: $25,740
49: $24,684
50: $24,156
51: $23,628
52: $23,100
53: $22,770
54: $22,440
55: $22,110
56: $21,780
57; $21,516
58: $21,384
59: $21,252
60: $21,120
61: $20,988
62: $20,856
63: $20,724
64: $20,592
65: $20,460
66; $20,328
67: $20,196
68; $20,064
69: $19,932
70: $19,800
71: $19,668
72: $19,536
73: $19,404
74: $19,272
75: $19,140
76; $19,008
77; $18,876
78: $18,744
79: $18,612
80: $18,480
81: $18,348