The US Open takes place this weekend as the best golfers in the world flock to the third major championship in the calendar year - and there will be keen eyes on the event from all corners of the sporting world following a dramatic few weeks in golf amid the rise of the controversial LIV Golf.
The highly-anticipated LIV Golf series made its debut at The Centurion Club in St Albans last weekend, with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia headlining a mixed field in terms of big name pull and talent. Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, secured a one-stroke victory and a £3.86 million payout.
The Saudi-backed LIV series is the most lucrative golf tournament in history. The lucrative eight-event series, which is funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), has a prize pot of just over £200m for 2022, while an extra £1.6 billion has reportedly been secured to expand the event to a 14-event league by 2024.
The $25million (£20million) prize from the London event dwarfed the £7million on offer at the Canadian Open, the PGA Tour event won by Rory McIlroy last weekend - but how does the US Open compare?
Although the official prize pot for the 2022 US Open Championship has yet to be officially confirmed by the PGA, it is likely to once again represent the largest purse of the four majors. The only event on the 2020/21 calendar with a bigger prize purse was The Players Championship, which is renowned for having the largest prize at $15 million.
In 2021 the prize purse was an incredible $12.5 million, which was larger than the PGA Championship by $500,000 and substantially more than The Masters and The Open by $1million. In 2022, the purse for both The Masters and the PGA Championship increased to $15 million while The Players Championship was a remarkable $20 million (£16.53m).
The 2022 US Open purse is rumoured to be $12.5 million - around £10.3m - with the winner taking home $2.25 million (£1.86m). According to the US Open prize money distribution chart, this is the standard 18 percent payout ahead of the 122nd edition of the event at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts - but it could see a hike in line with the other majors, which increased their respective purses.
The winner’s share for The Masters, which was won by Scottie Scheffler in April, increased to $2.7 million (£2.2m) while Justin Thomas also took home the same figure for winning the PGA Championship last month. Meanwhile, Australian Cameron Smith earned himself a staggering $3.6 million (£3m) for winning the 2022 edition of The Players Championship.
Do you think the prize money for winning the US Open is enough? Let us know in the comments section.
The 156-player field is recognised on the PGA Tour schedule, and is headed by Scheffler, Thomas, McIlroy and defending champion Jon Rahm.
A cut will be made after 36 holes to the top 60 players and ties for the final two rounds of the tournament. All players who finish four rounds of the tournament will earn money, and the final payout is based on how many players make the cut.
The US Open takes place at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts from 16-19 June.
