SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — This week’s U.S. Open purse is getting a$1 million boost to $22.5 million, tournament organizers announced Wednesday, matching the Masters as golf’s richest major championship.
In April, prize money at Augusta National surpassed the U.S. Open with a $1.5 million bump over the 2025 Masters. The last time the two majors had the same purse was 2016, when they both paid out $10 million.
“We believe we’re the best championship in the game, and we want a lot of aspects to be the best championship in the game,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said at the organization’s pre-tournament press conference. “Where we go, how we treat the players, how we pay out.”
The USGA did not increase the U.S. Open purse last year, paying out the same $21.5 million in prize money as in 2024. That marked the championship’s first time since 2021 with no pay bump.
J.J. Spaun and Bryson DeChambeau each won $4.3 million in 2025 and 2024, respectively. This week’s champion will take home $4.5 million—the same amount Rory McIlroy won at this year’s Masters.
“Some of that’s just personal pride,” Whan said. “We want to be big. We want to be the best. We want to make sure it’s life-changing in multiple ways.”
However, Whan also said the U.S. Open is “not in a race, we’re not chasing,” echoing what he told Front Office Sports last month. “It wouldn’t bother me a bit if Augusta was more or less the same,” Whan said at the time.
“We think it’s a measure of how we feel about our championship,” Whan said Wednesday of the U.S. Open’s prize money. “It needs to be significant and stand out. We think $22.5 million does.”
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Major Movement
The U.S. Open is the third of the four majors to raise its prize money so far this year.
The PGA Championship increased its purse to $20.5 million last month, up from $19 million in 2025.
The Open Championship has paid out $17 million in prize money each of the past two years, and has not yet announced the purse for next month’s tournament.
Prize money in golf has skyrocketed since the 2022 emergence of LIV Golf, which launched paying unprecedented $25 million purses at every tournament, and this year has paid out $32.3 million in prize money at each event.
Despite not having major status, the PGA Tour’s Players Championship has had a $25 million purse and $4.5 million winner’s check since 2023, the same year the PGA Tour started paying out $20 million purses at its eight signature events each season.
Equitable Pay?
This week’s$22.5 million purse increase marks a roughly 4.6% bump over the 2025 U.S. Open’s prize money of $21.5 million.
Earlier this month, the USGA increased the U.S. Women’s Open purse by $500,000 to $12.5 million—a roughly 4.2% bump above the $12 million purse in 2025.
SPONSORED BY SHEPPARD PRATT
Perfectionism Costs More Than Strokes
At the U.S. Open, one missed putt can hijack the next three holes—not because of talent, but because the mind slips into overcontrol: replaying, tightening, trying to “fix” what already happened.
That same perfectionism shows up in high-powered careers. It can look like anxiety, decision fatigue, or a constant feeling that success isn’t secure.
There’s a big difference between healthy standards and anxiety-driven perfectionism—and professional support can help you reset your performance baseline. That support is only available at The Retreat by Sheppard Pratt.
LOUD AND CLEAR
Turning Pro
USGA-Jeff Haynes
“It doesn’t feel too different.”
—Jackson Koivun, the No. 1-ranked amateur golfer, on turning professional following his appearance in this week’s U.S. Open. Koivun, 21, announced he will forgo his senior season at Auburn after leading the Tigers to the 2026 Division I men’s golf national championship.
The phenom secured a PGA Tour card last year by finishing atop the PGA Tour University rankings, but decided to delay his jump to the pros to keep competing in college. At Auburn, Koivun had NIL deals with Omni Hotels & Resorts, Old Republic Insurance, and wealth management firm Betterment—all of which he’s transitioning to pro endorsement deals.
Koivun must remain an amateur to compete in the U.S. Open (he qualified by finishing 2025 as the top-ranked amateur), which means he won’t be able to accept any prize money from the tournament’s $22.5 million purse. Does he wish he could cash a check this week? “Yeah, for sure,” he told Front Office Sports. “But it’s just part of being an amateur and just happy to be here.”
DAILY SPORTS TRIVIA
Can you list the last five golfers to win the U.S. Open in reverse chronological order starting with 2025?
SPONSORED BY RBC WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Championing Your Legacy
The greatest athletes don’t just play the game. They build something that outlasts the final whistle. A name. A reputation. A foundation for the next generation.
You’ve been playing your own game just as hard. Building a career, growing a family, giving back to your community, that kind of hustle deserves more than good intentions. It deserves a plan. Championing your legacy means making the right calls today, so your wins keep scoring for years to come.
At RBC Wealth Management, our financial advisors help you develop a strategy that aims to protect what you’ve earned and helps to grow what’s next. From estate planning to wealth transfer, we’re in your corner every step of the way.
ONE BIG FIG
Chasing Tiger
Katie Goodale-Imagn Images
$120.9 million
That’s the total amount of official career earnings Tiger Woods has amassed on the PGA Tour, the most in history. But Scottie Scheffler is closing fast. The world No. 1 enters this week’s U.S. Open with $111.49 million in career earnings while continuing his pursuit of Woods’s long-standing record.
Scheffler’s chase of the earnings crown comes as he also takes his first shot at completing the career grand slam. A U.S. Open victory would make him just the seventh golfer to win all four majors—and could further tighten the race with Rory McIlroy ($115.97 million) to become the first player to surpass Woods atop the PGA Tour’s all-time money list. Read the story.
Wednesday’s result: 52% of respondents said they did not watch every game of the NBA Finals.
DISCLAIMER
Investment and insurance products offered through RBC Wealth Management are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank or any bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.
Neither RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC (“RBC WM”), nor its affiliates or employees provide legal, accounting or tax advice. All legal, accounting or tax decisions regarding your accounts and any transactions or investments entered into in relation to such accounts, should be made in consultation with your independent advisors. No information, including but not limited to written materials, provided by RBC WM or its affiliates or employees should be construed as legal, accounting or tax advice.
RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, registered investment adviser and Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.
By sorecery