U.S. Open Announces Major Record $21.5 Million Purse, With $4.3 Million to Winner

This week’s national championship at Pinehurst raises the bar for payouts in golf’s four majors.

This year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 will feature a record purse for a major. / Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports

PINEHURST, N.C. — A record payday awaits players in the 124th U.S. Open as golf’s gold rush continues to show no signs of slowing down.

United States Golf Association CEO Mike Whan said Wednesday that the U.S. Open purse will be its biggest yet at $21.5 million, with $4.3 million to the winner. A year ago the U.S. Open reached the $20 million mark for its purse, with Wyndham Clark taking home $3.6 million for the win.

This year’s Masters paid out $20 million for the first time, with $3.6 million to winner Scottie Scheffler. Last month’s PGA Championship had an $18.5 million purse and Xander Schauffele earned 3.3 million for his first major title.

Only this year’s Players Championship, the PGA Tour's flagship tournament, pays more. This year's event at Sawgrass offered a $25 million purse and $4.5 million paid to Scheffler for his win.

Golf’s era of eye-popping dollars began in 2022 when Saudi-backed LIV Golf launched with $20 million individual purses for tournaments with $4 million to winners. The PGA Tour eventually matched that with its signature events, which have $20 million purses. “Legacy” signature events—the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament—pay $4 million to winners. 

“All of those things have changed quite a bit in the last few years, and change is uncomfortable, but I think we're not only keeping up with the times, but hopefully at least in the landscape of majors, in a lot of these cases we're leading,” Whan said.

“We want to make sure that our purse matches how we feel about the best of our championships, which is a life-changing difference in the game, and I think we're there and we'll continue to kind of monitor that.”

The PGA Tour’s season-long FedExCup will pay $25 million to its winner this year from a $100 million bonus pool. Viktor Hovland won $18 million last year.