Do Amateurs Get Paid To Play In The Open?

The Open Championship is one of the three Majors that has amateurs in the field, along with The Masters and US Open, as 156 players compete for the Claret Jug. But do amateurs receive prize money, or any other form of payment for that matter?

The bad news for the 12 amateurs competing in the Open this week is that they don’t receive any form of payment for their involvement, including prize money, even if they make the cut.

Instead, any money they would have made is redistributed among the professional players who reach the weekend’s action. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t great incentives to make it to the tournament to begin with.

Amateurs can reach The Open in several ways, including those who hold various amateur titles such as The Amateur champion, US Amateur champion, European Amateur champion, the Asia-Pacific Amateur champion and the winner of the Mark H McCormack Medal.

Amateurs can also make it to the tournament via local and final qualifying. Male amateur golfers whose playing handicap does not exceed 0.4 (scratch) are able to compete in local qualifying, with those who play well enough to get through that stage making it as far as final qualifying.

By that point, amateurs will typically be up against many professionals who are not otherwise exempt. For example, that stage for the 2024 tournament included Major winners Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia. For those who make it as far as final qualifying, a single day featuring 36 holes determines who will take their place in the field for the Major, and that can include amateurs.

For the professionals in the tournament, there are obvious financial incentives. For example, 2024 Open prize money payout sees the winner earn $3.1m from the $17m total purse.

While amateurs won’t see their bank balances boosted by an appearance at The Open, there are other incentives and perks, including tangible benefits. For example, since 1949 the low amateur after the final round has received the Silver Medal, while a tradition that was introduced in 1972 sees any amateur who makes it as far as that stage claim a Bronze Medal (the winner is awarded the Gold Medal).

There are plenty of indirect benefits, too. One of the more obvious is the publicity a strong performance at the event will undoubtedly bring. In turn, that can lead to exemptions for future tournaments as well as other perks including sponsorship deals or contract agreements for whenever they may turn pro.

There’s also the very clear incentive of simply appearing in the oldest and arguably most prestigious Major in the world. After all, that’s a big factor in what drives thousands of amateurs and pros not otherwise exempt to take part in qualifying each year.