U.S. Open raises prize money to $20 million, tops among majors

LOS ANGELES–The U.S. Open raised its prize money to $20 million, making it the top major championship and on par with the PGA Tour’s elite tournaments.

That’s an increase of $2.5 million from a year ago and double that of Dustin Johnson’s Oakmont win in 2016.

The winner at Sunday’s Los Angeles Country Club earned $3.6 million, beating the $3.15 million Matt Fitzpatrick received at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, a year ago.

Prize money has been a focus in recent years, even before Saudi-funded LIV Golf arrived with $25 million ($20 million for a 54-hole individual event). The PGA Tour offered him $20 million in purses in 10 tournaments and $25 million for his Championship Players.

This year’s Masters increased prize money to $18 million, and the PGA Championship increased prize money to $17.5 million.

The British Open has yet to announce prize money. Last year it was $14 million.

“We generally want this to be a big thing,” said USGA CEO Mike Wang. “We have to find the right balance of size in terms of where we play, how we televise it, and how many people we have on this golf course. increase.”

Wang said the USGA decided in November that $20 million was the right number.

She also acknowledged that the USGA has other projects, including 14 other championships (U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur) and sustainability research.

He also said the USGA has no intention of participating in the PGA Tour and prize competition. The PGA Tour operates a full schedule throughout the year with different sponsors and local bodies responsible for various tournaments.

“We understand that wallets can be relative. To be big you have to understand what’s going on in the world, and that’s what we do,” he said. said. “We’re not chasing being the biggest check, but the money and the opportunities here, whether they’re tour players, collegiate players or amateurs, how they got here. We want to make sure it’s still an important factor.” It’s big and we believe it’s big. ”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.