The Open prize money as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry among Irish contingent in action

The winner of The Open will pocket a massive €2.8million as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry chase big paycheques at Royal Troon.

McIlroy and Lowry head the Irish challenge at the Scottish venue, with Padraig Harrington, Tom McKibbin, Darren Clarke and amateur Liam Nolan also in action.

There is huge prize money on offer at the final major of the year, with the R&A announcing a $500,000 increase in the total prize fund for the tournament, which amounts to $17 million overall.

READ MORE: Near misses motivate Rory McIlroy to end major misery

READ MORE:Shane Lowry blasts criticism of Rory McIlroy's caddie that makes his 'blood boil'

McIlroy is aiming to end his ten-year major drought after coming agonisingly close to winning the US Open last month. The Holywood man briefly held a two-shot lead at Pinehurst with five holes to play but bogeyed three of the last four, missing very short putts on the 16th and 18th to finish a shot behind Bryson DeChambeau.

It was the 35-year-old’s best chance to win his first major since 2014 and brought back painful memories of squandering a four-shot lead in the final round of the 2011 Masters with a closing 80.

On that occasion McIlroy bounced back to win the US Open two months later and the Irishman can respond even quicker 14 years on, with the 152nd Open getting under way at Royal Troon just 32 days after his hasty exit from Pinehurst.

“I know that I’m in a good spot,” McIlroy, who revealed he had missed a supportive text from Tiger Woods due to changing his phone number after the US Open, said.

“If I think about 2015 through 2020, I seldom had a realistic chance to win a major championship in that five-year period. So I’d much rather have these close calls. It means that I’m getting closer.

Rory McIlroy
(Image: Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

“I’d love to be able to get one over the line, but as soon as I do that, people are going to say, well, when are you going to win your sixth? So it’s never ending.”

After three weeks off McIlroy returned to action with a tie for fourth in last week’s Scottish Open, where he revealed he spent several days alone with his thoughts in New York to process the events of Pinehurst.

“I would say maybe like three or four days after, I went from being very disappointed and dejected to trying to focus on the positives to then wanting to learn from the negatives and then getting to the point where you become enthusiastic and motivated to go again,” the world number two said.

“It’s funny how your mindset can go from ‘I don’t want to see a golf course for a month’ to like four days later being ‘can’t wait to get another shot at it’.

“When that disappointment turns to motivation, that’s when it’s time to go again.”

Meanwhile, Lowry blasted critics of McIlroy's caddie Harry Diamond following his US Open heartbreak.

He said: "Harry Diamond is the best person in the world to caddy for Rory McIlroy and I see it week in week out and he works harder than any of the caddies out here he's always here before him, walking the courses.

“He's there for him and even though he's not on the middle of the tee box like all these caddies who want to be on TV talking loud and telling Rory what to do he still makes his voice heard.

“Until you live that moment and that situation you never know how it is. Like I say, honestly, I've lived the situation. I don't think anybody is fit to comment on it.”

Here's a full breakdown of prize money for The Open:

1 $3,100,000 36 $88,7002 $1,759,000 37 $84,6003 $1,128,000 38 $80,3004 $876,000 39 $77,4005 $705,000 40 $74,9006 $611,000 41 $71,8007 $525,000 42 $68,3008 $442,500 43 $65,2009 $388,000 44 $61,50010 $350,600 45 $58,00011 $319,200 46 $55,00012 $282,800 47 $52,80013 $266,000 48 $50,70014 $249,000 49 $48,40015 $231,000 50 $47,20016 $212,700 51 $46,20017 $202,400 52 $45,40018 $193,000 53 $44,70019 $184,900 54 $44,00020 $176,200 55 $43,30021 $168,000 56 $42,70022 $159,600 57 $42,30023 $151,000 58 $42,00024 $142,600 59 $41,70025 $137,800 60 $41,40026 $131,800 61 $41,20027 $127,000 62 $41,00028 $122,600 63 $40,80029 $117,300 64 $40,60030 $111,200 65 $40,30031 $107,600 66 $40,00032 $102,100 67 $39,70033 $98,500 68 $39,40034 $95,700 69 $39,10035 $92,400 70 $38,900

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