Pinehurst’s No2 course looked set to torment some of the world’s best golfers at the 2024 US Open this week – but their reward is record levels of prize money.
The total pot for the third men’s major of the season has increased to $21.5m, up 7.5 per cent on last year’s $20m.
But the winner’s share has rocketed by almost 20 per cent to $4.3m, dwarfing Wyndham Clark’s windfall of $3.6m last year.
It is the third year in a row that US Open prize money has increased following the pandemic, which dented or froze purses across golf and other sports.
The increases make it the most lucrative of the four men’s majors by some distance. The Masters is next, with Scottie Scheffler banking $3.6m from total prize money of $20m at Augusta in April.
Xander Schauffele earned $3.3m for winning the first major of his career at the US PGA Championship last month.
The Open Championship has not revealed its fund for this year yet but paid Brian Harman $3m from a total pot of $16.5m last season.
The golf tournament which offers the most prize money for a single 72-hole tournament is not one of the majors, however.
The Players Championship, sometimes dubbed the unofficial fifth major, has a total prize fund of $25m and paid its winner – Scheffler, again – $4.5m in March.