The Open prize money as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry among Irish contingent in action
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
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.
“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 $88,700
2 $1,759,000 37 $84,600
3 $1,128,000 38 $80,300
4 $876,000 39 $77,400
5 $705,000 40 $74,900
6 $611,000 41 $71,800
7 $525,000 42 $68,300
8 $442,500 43 $65,200
9 $388,000 44 $61,500
10 $350,600 45 $58,000
11 $319,200 46 $55,000
12 $282,800 47 $52,800
13 $266,000 48 $50,700
14 $249,000 49 $48,400
15 $231,000 50 $47,200
16 $212,700 51 $46,200
17 $202,400 52 $45,400
18 $193,000 53 $44,700
19 $184,900 54 $44,000
20 $176,200 55 $43,300
21 $168,000 56 $42,700
22 $159,600 57 $42,300
23 $151,000 58 $42,000
24 $142,600 59 $41,700
25 $137,800 60 $41,400
26 $131,800 61 $41,200
27 $127,000 62 $41,000
28 $122,600 63 $40,800
29 $117,300 64 $40,600
30 $111,200 65 $40,300
31 $107,600 66 $40,000
32 $102,100 67 $39,700
33 $98,500 68 $39,400
34 $95,700 69 $39,100
35 $92,400 70 $38,900
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