MW British Open winner will get more than $3 million. But the story for lower finishers is not so bright.
By Weston Blasi
Pro golfers are independent contractors, and a weak tournament performance can cost them a lot of money
The Open Championship, also referred to as the British Open, teed off on Thursday in Northern Ireland, and the winner will take home more than $3.1 million.
But for the dozens of other golfers who don't finish near the top of the tournament standings, the earnings fall off fast.
While the overall prize pool is an impressive $17 million - the same amount as last year - the top 10 finishers will collectively earn $9.8 million (58% of the total pool). A 50th-place finisher will earn less than $47,000 from the tournament, and that's before taxes, caddie fees and the travel and lodging costs associated with a weeklong stay in Northern Ireland.
A total of 156 players were invited to the tournament, but only the top 70 will make the cut and get at least some prize money. Players who miss the cut don't get paid at all.
The steep drop in prize money for players lower on the leaderboard highlights the divide in professional golf when it comes to finances. Pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau talked about this on a recent episode of the "Full Send" podcast.
"Anybody that is outside the top 165 on the money list is losing money every year. They don't make money. They are losing money," he said.
DeChambeau was referring to the fact that golfers - both those on the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf tour - are considered independent contractors and are responsible for paying for their own travel, lodging and coaching, which can get pricey.
It's a much different experience from that of athletes on teams in the NFL, MLB and NBA, who get many of those costs taken care of by the leagues or teams they play for. Hiring a personal coach in sports like golf and tennis - another sport where athletes are considered contractors - can cost tens of thousands of dollars per season, leading some lower-ranked athletes to forgo having a coach entirely.
Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player on the PGA Tour, earned $29.2 million in 2024. That's his total prize money prior to paying taxes and before paying his coaches and caddies (caddies earn 5% to 10% of a player's winnings) or covering his travel expenses. Meanwhile, the 165th-highest-earning player of 2024, Kevin Chappell, made $529,738 last year. At a federal marginal tax rate of 35% due to his high income, plus all his golf-related expenses, Chappell is likely taking home less than half of his winnings.
A salary of half a million dollars prior to expenses is still a good salary for the average person. But further down the PGA Tour rankings, a player in the 200th position earns $228,568, and one in the 250th spot earns $73,350. Once expenses are deducted, these players are probably operating at a deficit.
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And there's no guaranteed income on the PGA Tour.
"When you're missing cuts, you make nothing," DeChambeau said.
DeChambeau, 31, is one of the top golfers in the world and has made a lot of money as a pro. He earned $29.9 million in his career on the PGA Tour, and he's made more than five times that since joining PGA competitor LIV Golf, a Saudi-backed league, in 2022. He was reportedly paid $125 million simply for joining LIV Golf and has earned an additional $38.9 million from his LIV tournament winnings.
"It's a nonglamorous job when you're outside the top players," Victor Matheson, an economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross who specializes in sports, told MarketWatch about pro golf and tennis players.
"Serena Williams made hundreds of millions, but it is a struggle being on a tour at a low level," Matheson said. "You don't have to go very far until an average worker outearns what a lower-level pro golfer or tennis player makes."
Here's how much the top finishers at the 2025 British Open will make in prize money:
Finish Value Finish Value 1 $3.1 million 36 $88,700 2 $1.76 million 37 $84,600 3 $1.13 million 38 $80,300 4 $876,000 39 $77,400 5 $705,000 40 $74,900 6 $611,000 41 $71,800 7 $525,000 42 $68,300 8 $442,500 43 $65,200 9 $388,000 44 $61,500 10 $350,600 45 $58,000 11 $319,200 46 $55,000 12 $282,800 47 $52,800 13 $266,000 48 $50,700 14 $249,000 49 $48,400 15 $231,000 50 $47,200 16 $212,700 51 $46,200 17 $202,400 52 $45,400 18 $193,000 53 $44,700 19 $184,900 54 $44,000 20 $176,200 55 $43,300 21 $168,000 56 $42,700 22 $159,600 57 $42,300 23 $151,000 58 $42,000 24 $142,600 59 $41,700 25 $137,800 60 $41,400 26 $131,800 61 $41,200 27 $127,000 62 $41,000 28 $122,600 63 $40,800 29 $117,300 64 $40,600 30 $111,200 65 $40,300 31 $107,600 66 $40,000 32 $102,100 67 $39,700 33 $98,500 68 $39,400 34 $95,700 69 $39,100 35 $92,400 70 $38,900
Scheffler has been the favorite at every major this year and continued to be one prior to the start of the 2025 British Open. DraftKings Sportsbook $(DKNG)$ had Scheffler's odds of winning at +450, slightly ahead of home favorite Rory McIlroy at +750. Scheffler and McIlroy are the top two-ranked golfers in the world.
Jon Rahm was next at +1200, followed by DeChambeau at +2200 and defending champion Xander Schauffele at +2200.
Read on: Cristiano Ronaldo's new $700 million contract reportedly includes private jets and 16 personal staff. Here's how that compares with perks for other top athletes and CEOs.
-Weston Blasi
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July 17, 2025 12:26 ET (16:26 GMT)
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