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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
TROON, Scotland — The R&A will distribute a record $17 million purse at this week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club, including $3.1 million to the winner.
That amount doesn’t rank among the top 25 purses in men’s professional golf this season, and outgoing R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said the sport’s governing organizations need to keep their eye on the overall health of the sport.
“There’s clearly a market out there,” Slumbers said Wednesday. “We watch it week in and week out, throughout regular play as well as through the big events. So yeah, we’re aware of what the numbers are, but we’re also aware of our own business model and the way we think about it and, as I keep saying, the importance to keep investing.”
The Open ranks fourth in purse size among the four major championships. The U.S. Open had the highest at $21.5 million, followed by the Masters ($20 million) and PGA Championship ($18.5 million).
In an effort to keep its top golfers from jumping to the Saudi Arabia-financed LIV Golf League, the PGA Tour also dramatically increased purse sizes for signature events and the FedEx Cup playoffs the past two years. The Players Championship had a $25 million purse this year, and nine other events doled out $20 million.
Each of the 14 LIV Golf League tournaments this season distribute $25 million for individual and team winners.
Slumbers noted that after a stagnant period from 2016 to 2018, golf participation has increased sharply the past few years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These are very encouraging figures, but we have to maintain this momentum,” Slumbers said. “To do that, we must have a sustainable business model in the long term. If you look at golf as a pyramid, however strong the pyramid is at the top, it can only be sustained in the long term if the pyramid is equally strong at the base.”
Slumbers announced Jan. 10 that he will step down after nine years overseeing the R&A. He will be replaced Nov. 1 by Mark Darbon, CEO of the Northampton Saints rugby club.
“The reason I’m raising this concern is frankly that I care deeply about getting more people into golf around the world and helping them to move through the levels of the sport if they have the talent and the motivation,” Slumbers said. “While we will always offer a very competitive prize fund for The Open, our wider focus is on increasing participation and improving pathways in golf. We have to make choices about how we allocate resources and make the resources we have go as far as they can.”