Women’s British Open prize money: How much will players win at St Andrew’s?

The prize money pot at this year’s Women’s British Open hit another record this year, with both the overall fund for players and the winner’s total hitting new highs.

Golfers’ competing at a windy St Andrew’s this weekend will win a share of $9.5m (£7.2m), an increase of $500,000 (£381,137) on last year’s spoils.

The winner will take home $1.4m (£1.1m), the largest amount in the Open’s nearly 50-year history.

The uplift in both the winner’s total and the overall pot makes the prize fund the third most lucrative major in women’s golf.

With a prize pot of $12m (£9.1m), the 2024 US Open, which was won in June by Japanese golfer Yuka Saso, had the largest fund in golf history. Saso took home $2.4m (£1.8m) of the pot.

The Women’s PGA Championship – won by Saso’s compatriot Ayaka Furue – was in second with $10.4m (£7.9m).

Growth of Women’s British Open prize money

This year’s figure is the latest proof of what has been an astronomic growth in the sums up for grabs at the only British major, and the women’s game as a whole.

It may only be a 5.5 per cent improvement on 2023 figure, but the uplift means that since 2018 – when the total pot was just $3.25m – prize money at the tournament has nearly trebled (see graph).

Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A – one of golf’s governing bodies – said: “The increased prize fund and our enhancements to the staging and the spectator experience this year reflect our shared commitment to making the AIG Women’s Open a world class championship for players and fans alike.”

How prize money compares at women’s and men’s majors

The prize money in women’s golf may have grown rapidly in the past six years, but it is still less than the enormous numbers fetched in the men’s game.

This year, the winner of every major was paid in excess of $3m (£2.3m). And as with the women’s game, the US Open was the most lucrative major, paying this year’s winner Bryson DeChambeau $4.3m (£3.3m).

But even these figures pale into comparison next to some of the numbers male players fetch in the controversial LIV Golf circuit. The breakaway Saudi tournament has offered players eye-watering sums to leave the PGA Tour, with John Rahm getting a rumoured £477m for making the switch late last year.