Mark Darbon believes R&A have 'got the balance just right' as Open Championship 2025 prize money revealed
R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon believes they’ve “got the balance just right” after revealing prize money at The Open Championship 2025 will remain the same as 12 months ago.
In a sporting world where financial figures continue to drive upwards at a rapid rate, the R&A have decided against increasing the total fund made available to competitors at Royal Portrush this week.
A prize fund of $17million will be up for grabs across the 156-player field while the winner will receive a cheque for $3.1million – the same purse collected by reigning champion Xander Schauffele at Royal Troon in 2024.
The Open has the lowest prize money total of the four majors – a record $21million was available at the Masters in April with Rory McIlroy taking home a whopping $4.2million after completing his career Grand Slam – but Darbon believes his organisation are taking a sensible approach.
"I'm a big believer that the athletes are the stars of our sport and they should be well compensated for what they do,” he said. “They inspire and excite millions of golfers all around the world.
"So we're always going to look to strike the right balance between an attractive prize fund that compensates them for their efforts and our wider responsibilities in the game.
“We have held flat this year. I think prize fund is still 60 percent up on when we were here last time in 2019. That's strong growth by anyone's standards. We think the choice we've made is really appropriate.
“At The R&A, we have a unique role to play. We take the surplus that we generate from this Open Championship and we invest it back into the game all around the world, so we think we've got the balance just right.”
Around 278,000 spectators will be present at Royal Portrush throughout this week, making The Open Northern Ireland’s biggest-ever sporting event, but there was an even higher demand from golf fans to be present on the iconic Dunluce links.
While the R&A could have benefited financially from providing more tickets, Darbon insists fan experience is their priority.
"I think our first question, the first question I would ask is not how do we monetise that, it's how do we deliver a brilliant experience because a lot flows from that,” he added. “So we spend a lot of time thinking about the experience for our different client groups -- our spectators, our hospitality guests, our commercial partners and patrons, the players themselves -- and we try and build a venue and implement our infrastructure plans in that context.
"I go back to my point previously, which is it's not about just being bigger, it's about being better.
"So yes, it's fantastic to be in a position where you have very strong demand and we'd like to ensure that our Open Championship remains just that, open and accessible to golf fans and sports fans all around the world. We'll continue to try to get that balance right into the future.”