(Getty)
Whoever wins the 2017 US Open will be rewarded with the most lucrative prize in the history of golf: A $2.16 million paycheck.
That distinction used to go to the respective victors of the Players Championship and the PGA Championship, but after Dustin Johnson collected $1.8 million of the $10 million purse at Oakmont in 2016, the USGA decided to up the ante, pushing the 2017 purse to a record $12 million.
“When you look at the USGA championships, by and large, just about any way you look at, they’re the most important championships not only in the U.S. but in the world,” USGA executive director/CEO Mike Davis said in February. “And we talked about that and said the purses really should reflect that.”
For some perspective, Tiger Woods’s historic US Open win at Pebble Beach in 2000 earned him $800,000. In 2017, the top three finishers will all collect more than that. Here’s a complete look at the prize money distribution from Erin Hills:
2017 US Open Prize Money Distribution
Numbers via CBS Sports’ Kyle Porter
Winner: $2.16 million
Runner-Up: $1.296 million
3rd: $804,023
4th: $63,642
5th: $469,460
6th: $416,263
7th: $375,278
8th: $336,106
9th: $304,188
10th: $279,403
11th: $254,981
12th: $235,757
13th: $219,677
14th: $202,751
15th: $188,243
16th: $176,153
17th: $166,481
18th: $156,809
19th: $147,137
20th: $137,464
21st: $129,122
22nd: $120,780
23rd: $112,680
24th: $105,184
25th: $98,655
26th: $93,094
27th: $88,862
28th: $85,114
29th: $81,487
30th: $77,860
31st: $74,233
32nd: $70,606
33rd: $66,979
34th: $63,715
35th: $61,055
36th: $58,395
37th: $55,856
38th: $53,438
39th: $51,020
40th: $48,602
41st: $46,184
42nd: $43,766
43rd: $41,348
44th: $38,930
45th: $36,512
46th: $34,336
47th: $32,159
48th: $30,104
49th: $28,895
50th: $27,686
51st: $26,961
52nd: $26,356
53rd: $25,872
54th: $25,631
55th: $25,389
56th: $25,147
57th: $24,905
58th: $24,663
59th: $24,422
60th: $24,180
61st: $23,938
62nd: $23,696
63rd: $23,454
64th: $23,213
65th: $22,971
66th: $22,729
Players who missed the cut each receive $10,000
2017 PGA Tour Money Leaders
Note: Numbers from prior to US Open. Full list can be found here
1. Dustin Johnson: $6,355,725
2. Hideki Matsuyama: $4,895,978
3. Justin Thomas: $4,851,655
4. Jon Rahm: $4,491,815
5. Kevin Kisner: $3,719,080
6. Jordan Spieth: $3,665,508
7. Pat Perez: $3,582,575
8. Rickie Fowler: $3,414,838
9. Daniel Berger: $2,894,734
10. Sergio Garcia: $2,850,945
11. Adam Hadwin: $2,795,365
12: Brian Harman: $2,752,838
13: Justin Rose: $2,751,715
14: Jason Dufner: $2,701,474
15: Marc Leishman: $2,656,705
16: Billy Horschel: $2,541,971
17: Brendan Steele: $2,450,663
18: Si Woo Kim: $2,346,599
19: Brooks Koepka: $2,304,771
20: Russell Henley: $2,293,009