How much prize money does Cameron Smith get for winning the 2022 British Open?

The Open - or the ‘British Open’ to some - is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world, not only given its history and its status as a major, but also that it’s one of the events that distributes the most in prize money on the PGA Tour. Thus, the oldest major golf tournament (it has been going since 1860) has increased its budget and, if 11.5 million dollars were distributed in 2021, the organizers have raised it to 14 million.

$2.7 million for Cam Smith Open win

Even with everything else going on, The Open is the fifth highest golf tournament in terms of financial prizes, behind the three other majors (PGA Championship, Masters and U.S. Open), and the Players Championship.

As the winner of this historic event, being its 150th edition, Cameron Smith has engraved his name in the golf history books and takes the highest ever value from it, which amounts to 2.7 million dollars. As runner-up, Cameron Young will receive $1,620,000, and Rory McIlroy, who closes the podium, will receive $1,020,000.

The rest of the money, up to 14 million dollars, will be distributed to the 70 highest positioned players.

“There have been significant changes to prize money over the last year,” said Martin Slumbers, CEO of the R&A. “Therefore, we have increased the prize fund by 22%, which means that the prize money has increased by more than 60% since 2016.”