Posted at 2:36 a.m., Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Golf: British Open to increase prize money
By Dex McLuskey
Bloomberg News Service
The 136th recipient of the Claret Jug at Carnoustie, northeast Scotland, on July 22 will collect a check for 750,000 pounds, 30,000 pounds more than Tiger Woods earned as champion the past two years.
"This increased prize money reflects our goal of maintaining the position of the Open Championship at the forefront of world golf," Peter Dawson, chief executive officer at the St. Andrews, Scotland-based R&A, said in a statement today.
The winner's check is the highest among golf's four majors and the fourth-biggest in the sport after the season-long FedEx Cup on the U.S. PGA Tour, the World Match Play Championship on the European Tour, which pays 1 million pounds, and the Players Championship, which earned Phil Mickelson $1.62 million this year.
The $10 million paid to the FedEx Cup winner, awarded at September's Tour Championship, is the biggest first prize in sports.
The Open Championship is the richest major at current exchange rates. The U.S. PGA Championship, the year's final major, has yet to reveal its fund, which totaled $6.5 million in 2006.
