When Willie Park Senior won the first-ever Major, the 1860 Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club, do you know how much prize money he received?
If you don’t know, have a guess. If you wish a clue – well it is a heck of a lot less than the $3.1 million that this year’s champion, Xander Schaufelle, won.
In fact, it is the whole $3.1million less. The first three winners of The Open won no money at all.
When Willie Park won the fourth Open to be played, he did receive a share of the purse. But his share of the purse of £10 was the same as everyone’s else – so, in effect, appearance money rather than prize money.
It was only the fifth Open that awarded money specifically for winning – Old Tom Morris, in securing The Open title for a third time, won £6 of that year’s purse of £15.
In those days £6 went a heck of a lot further than it does now. In purchasing power in today’s terms it represents about £990 or $1,250. But, to put it another way, the Open Champion now still wins, in real terms, about two and a half million times more than the 1864 winner did.
It is a similar story whichever era you choose to examine. The first US Open was held in 1895 and the winner, Englishman Horace Rawlins, received $150. That is the equivalent of $5,600 at today’s prices.
The Tiger effect?
Farmers Insurance CEO Jeff Dailey presents Tiger Woods with the winner’s cheque after the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open of 2013
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tiger Woods is credited with making golf more popular and marketable, driving up the prize money as a result. But the last of his Major wins, the Masters in 2019, won him $2.07 million, the equivalent of $2.56 million today. This year’s Masters winner won more than a million dollars than this in real terms.
These are Majors. Tiger’s day job was on the PGA Tour. He last topped the PGA Tour’s seasonal money list in 2013 when he won $8,553,439, the equivalent to $11,600,000 in buying power now.
His best year was 2007 when he won $10,867,052, which equates to $16,550,000 in present-day prices.
This season Scottie Scheffler topped the money list at $29,228,357 with a bonus $25 million on top for winning the FedExCup. To put this $29,228,357 in context, Tiger Woods’ official career prize money on the PGA Tour is…
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