The winner of the 2024 US Open will win a sum of money that no major winner has ever won before.
USGA CEO Mike Whan announced on Wednesday at Pinehurst that this year’s winner will bank $4.3 million from the total $21.5 million purse.
This represents a large increase of $1.5 million from 12 months ago when the purse was $20 million at Los Angeles Country Club. Wyndham Clark won $3.6 million and his first major trophy after toppling Rory McIlroy in a tense finish.
Any player who misses the cut will also earn $10,000.
(All images courtesy of the USGA)
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“I’ll be honest, we don’t sit in rooms and say, ‘How do we…’ We want to make sure that our purse matches how we feel about the rest of our championship, which is a life-changing difference in the game and I think we’re there and we’ll continue to monitor that,” Whan said.
“There’s probably some, if we went $1 million higher than some others, they’d just go a million and I’m not sure that’s the best answer, but I don’t think anybody who wins this week and walks away with $4.3 million, and quite frankly all of the other (things) that come with winning the US Open, is going to question whether or not that was an event that’s changing.
“We are proud of our purse. I’m proud of the fact that we as an organisation consistently ask ourselves whether or not we think we’ve got our purse right or TV right. All of those things have changed quite a bit in the last few years, and change is uncomfortable. But 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 and you guys can decide if that’s right or wrong, but that’s what we think.”
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Whoever hoists the US Open trophy on Sunday will also receive a little under $1 million more than what Xander Schauffele pocketed for winning last month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla. The American banked $3,330,000 of the $18.5 million purse in Kentucky.
The top cheque in North Carolina is $300,000 more than what a player earns for winning a Signature Event on the PGA Tour, essentially the most lucrative events the US circuit has to offer.
Only the Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event held at TPC Sawgrass in Florida, has a larger purse of $25 million, $4.5 million of which was awarded to Scottie Scheffler earlier this year.
The total purse that Liv Golf distributes at each of its regular Saudi-funded events also stands at $25 million, with the winner earning $4 million with the potential of another $750,000 depending on where the team finishes in the team format.
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