U.S. Open: USGA offering a record $21.5 million purse, $4.3 million for winner at Pinehurst
By comparison, only The Players Championship had a larger purse this season
The U.S. Open is offering yet another record purse this summer.
The major championship is offering a $21.5 million purse this season, which marks the largest ever put up in a men’s major championship. That’s a $1.5 million increase from last season, and $1.5 million more than the Masters had earlier this season.
The winner at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina will earn $4.3 million.
"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," USGA CEO Mike Wahn said on Wednesday, via ESPN. "And I think we're there and we'll continue to kind of monitor that."
Though the purse is a record for the tournament, it’s not quite the largest offered this season. The Players Championship had a $25 million prize pool in March. Scottie Scheffler took home $4.5 million after his win there at TPC Sawgrass.
Scheffler earned $3.6 million for his win at Augusta National in April. Xander Schauffele, who picked up his first major championship win in Louisville last month, brought home $3.3 million at the PGA Championship. That was part of an $18.5 million purse.
It’s still unclear what will be offered at the British Open next month. The R&A had a $16.5 million purse at last year’s tournament.
By comparison, the PGA Tour offers $20 million purses at its signature events this season. The first two FedExCup Playoffs events will have $20 million purses, too. It’s not yet known how much will be up for grabs at the Tour Championship.
The U.S. Open will kick off on Thursday morning in North Carolina. Scheffler, who has won five times on the PGA Tour this season after last week's Memorial Tournament win, is the overwhelming favorite to win yet again this week.
