British Open Prize Money 2015: Purse Info for Top Stars After Zach Johnson's Win

Earning nearly $2 million for four days' work is a nice gig if you can get it. Zach Johnson collected a hefty payout in addition to the Claret Jug for his 2015 British Open victory.

Johnson pulled through following a four-hole playoff between himself, Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen. His one-under score over the playoff was enough to secure the title. You can view the full leaderboard below:

The purse for this year's tournament saw a slight increase to $10 million, with a little under $1.8 million going to the winner.

"The Open is one of the world's pre-eminent sporting events," said Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient, per Reuters (via Yahoo Sports). "The Championship represents the pinnacle for the world's greatest golfers, and this increase is appropriate for an event with The Open's global appeal."

Below, you can see the amounts paid out to the top 20 finishers:

Place	Golfer	Payout
1	Zach Johnson	$1,794,690
T2	Louis Oosthuizen	$837,262
T2	Marc Leishman	$837,262
T4	Jason Day	$460,377
T4	Jordan Spieth	$460,377
T6	Danny Willett	$305,878
T6	Justin Rose	$305,878
T6	Sergio Garcia	$305,878
T6	Jordan Niebrugge (a)	$0
T10	Brooks Koepka	$216,143
T10	Adam Scott	$216,143
T12	Brendon Todd	$162,107
T12	Luke Donald	$162,107
T12	Martin Kaymer	$162,107
T12	Anthony Wall	$162,107
T12	Ollie Schniederjans (a)	$0
T12	Ashley Chesters (a)	$0
T18	Hideki Matsuyama	$129,140
T18	Robert Streb	$129,140
T20	Branden Grace	$95,938
T20	Russell Henley	$95,938
T20	Greg Owen	$95,938
T20	Phil Mickelson	$95,938
T20	James Morrison	$95,938
T20	Marcus Fraser	$95,938
T20	Stewart Cink	$95,938
T20	Patrick Reed	$95,938
T20	Retief Goosen	$95,938
T20	Padraig Harrington	$95,938

A segment of golf fans are likely a bit unhappy with the final result. Jordan Spieth came so close to potentially earning his third major tournament win this year. Instead, his bid for the Grand Slam ended at St. Andrews.

Despite the disappointment, Spieth wasn't too downtrodden on social media:

In the end, Spieth's putting was ultimately his downfall. ESPN Stats & Info noted how he had his worst performance on the greens to date at majors at the British Open:

Those numbers aren't terrible by any stretch, but in a tournament where the slimmest of margins can mean the difference between success and failure, they were certainly a decisive factor.

The end of Spieth's Grand Slam dream shouldn't overshadow Johnson's performance. The 39-year-old bookended his British Open with six-under 66s and saved some of his best golf for the final round. Golf Channel's Justin Ray added just how impressive his Monday score was given the outcome:

Johnson even had that one incredible shot that will be remembered for years: his birdie putt on 18 in Round 4:

Whereas Spieth's putting did him no favors Monday, Johnson's best work came on the green. He was great off the tee—94 percent of fairways hit and an average drive distance of 302 yards—but hit just 67 percent of his greens in regulation.

Once he got his putter in his hands, Johnson was phenomenal. His 26 putts were the fewest of anybody in the final round. It was essentially the same story all weekend, as he finished tied for second in average putts per round (29).

When the conditions were as brutal as they were at St. Andrews at times throughout the British Open, Johnson's ability to gain strokes on the green enabled him to remain in contention from start to finish.

It will be interesting to see how Johnson performs at the 2015 PGA Championship. As Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman noted, he has some history at the venue for this year's event:

"

Zach Johnson finished 1 shot out of the playoff in 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, site of this yr's PGA. Just sayin'.

— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) July 20, 2015"

After Johnson won the 2007 Masters, he didn't do much of note at a major tournament until a top-10 finish at the 2009 PGA Championship.

He's a little older and a little wiser this time around. If he can repeat his showing at St. Andrews when he arrives at Whistling Straits, there's no reason Johnson couldn't be among those in contention for the title.

Note: Stats are courtesy of TheOpen.com.