Tracy Wilcox
JUNE 20, 2026
SOUTHAMPTION, N.Y. — It pays to win the U.S. Open … literally.
On Wednesday, USGA CEO Mike Whan announced that the prize money payout for this year’s championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club will be $22.5 million, an increase of $1 million from year ago and the fifth bump in the overall purse in the last six years. The winner will earn a record $4.5 million
For context, when the USGA last played the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, the prize money payout was just $12 million with winner Brooks Koepka earning $2.16 million for his second straight U.S. Open title.
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Whan was straight forward when talking about the decision to increase. “I think at the end of the day … we believe, and it’s fair if you want to disagree with it, 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,” Whan said. “Where we go, how we treat the players, how we pay out, how we’re televised, and we’re proud of the fact there’s more network hours on the U.S. Open than any other major championship.
“Yeah, some of that’s just personal pride. We want to be big. We want to be the best. We want to make sure it’s life-changing in multiple ways.”
The USGA decision follows officials at the Masters increasing their prize money payout to $22.5 million, thus matching Augusta National for the largest paydays of any of the men’s majors. That said, Whan was cautious to hint that there is sentiment among the majors to reacting to each other as purses rise.
“We also are not in a race. We’re not chasing,” Whan said. “I don’t know if that answers your question, but we’re proud of where we are. I couldn’t tell you and until I get some truth serum in here how much farther we go in the years to come, but we think it’s a measure of how we feel about our championship. It needs to be significant and stand out. We think 22.5 does.”O
nly the Players Championship, with a purse of $25 million, has a bigger overall payday than the U.S. Open. And as for the majors, the U.S. Open and Masters are out front, followed by the PGA Championship, which paid out $20.5 million last month after Aaron Rai’s win at Aronimink. The Open Championship paid out $17 million at Royal Portrush in 2025.More context: Let’s consider how much the USGA has paid U.S. Open winners over time. As you can see, the reward has become exponentially greater in recent years.1950: Ben Hogan at Merion, $4,000
1960: Arnold Palmer at Cherry Hills, $14,400
1973: Johnny Miller at Oakmont, $35,000
1980: Jack Nicklaus at Baltusrol, $55,000
1982: Tom Watson at Pebble Beach, $60,000
1992: Tom Kite at Pebble Beach, $275,000
2000: Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach, $800,000
2008: Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines, $1.35 million
2011: Rory McIlroy at Congressional, $1.44 million
2015: Jordan Spieth at Chambers Bay, $1.8 million
2017: Brooks Koepka at Erin Hills, $2.16 million
2021: Jon Rahm at Torrey Pines, $2.25 million
2022: Matt Fitzpatrick at The Country Club, $3.15 million
2023: Wyndham Clark at LACC, $3.6 million
2024: Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst, $4.3 million
And here is the payouts for each U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills:
1896 (James Foulis): Purse—$335; winner’s share: $150
1986 (Raymond Floyd): Purse—$700,000; winner’s share: $126,000
1995 (Corey Pavin): Purse—$2 million; winner’s share: $350,000
2004 (Retief Goosen): Purse—$6.25 million; winner’s share: $1.125 million
2018 (Brooks Koepka): Purse—$12 million; winner’s share: $2.16 million
The top 60 and ties make the 36-hole cut at the U.S. Open. For those that don’t advance past to the weekend. And for any professionals who don’t make the cut at the U.S. Open, you’re still walking away with a nice return: $10,000.
The full prize money payout breakdown for this year’s championship was released on Saturday after the cut was made. Each of the professionals who missed the cut also received $10,000 in unofficial prize money. We’ll update this list after Sunday’s finish with names and individual paydays.
