British Open Prize Money 2016: Total Purse Info for Royal Troon Golf Club

One of the most prestigious events of the golfing calendar will tee off on Thursday in the form of the 2016 British Open.

Zach Johnson will be out to defend his title at The Open, while 2014 winner Rory McIlroy will be hoping to reclaim it after injury denied him the chance to compete last year. Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day are also likely to be in contention.

The last time the championship was held at Royal Troon, Todd Hamilton came away as the surprise winner. It will be intriguing to see if there are any contenders out of left field this time around.

According to the Telegraph, the total purse is £6.5 million—a £200,000 increase on 2015—with the victor picking up £1.175 million as well as the Claret Jug. 

In the unlikely event an amateur wins—it hasn't happened since 1930, though then-amateur Paul Dunne held a share of the lead going into the final round last year—his prize money is proportionally divided up among the professionals who made it to the weekend.

Here is a full breakdown of the purse:

Position	Prize Money
1	£1,175,00
2	£675,000
3	£433,000
4	£337,000
5	£271,000
6	£235,000
7	£201,000
8	£170,000
9	£149,000
10	£135,000
11	£122,000
12	£108,750
13	£102,000
14	£95,500
15	£89,500
16	£82,000
17	£78,000
18	£74,000
19	£71,000
20	£68,000

Being a links course, Royal Troon will provide a typically challenging experience for the players as they battle the elements and the ever-changing conditions as much as the course itself.

Per the PGA Tour, defending champion Zach Johnson is relishing the prospect of returning to the site of his first Open experience and the links course:

How the players handle Royal Troon will certainly add an extra layer of intrigue to the proceedings, and those who cope best will be the ones battling it out on Sunday.

McIlroy endured a less than ideal practice session on Wednesday, as he took six shots to escape the coffin bunker on the eighth hole, per Sky Sports. According to Sky Sports' Keith Jackson, the Northern Irishman said:

"

I think I took an eight or a nine, so that didn't go too well. Headed into the front right bunker and it took me like five or six goes to get out of it. There is a lot of sand in the bunker, so when the ball just trickles back in, it doesn't go into the middle. It sort of stays.

Obviously that lip there is basically vertical, so it sort of just stayed there, and every time I tried to get it out, it would go back into the same spot. So it was bit of a struggle at the Postage Stamp for me, but hopefully the struggle is out of the way for that hole.

"

Nevertheless, despite having never played at Royal Troon, he feels it will be the same for the majority of his competitors:

"

I've gone to plenty of golf courses before that I haven't played and been able to do well on them. You've got some of the older guys, obviously, like your Ernie Elses or Phil Mickelsons that have played at Troon before in an Open Championship.

But I think most of the guys here that are either up around the top of the rankings probably didn't play the Open at Troon when it was last here. So I don't think I'm at a disadvantage at all.

"

Indeed, 12 years on from The Open's last appearance there, many golfers will be similarly unfamiliar with the course heading into the championship.

As Sky Sports News HQ also revealed, the 27-year-old hasn't been in spectacular form at this year's other majors in the run-up to The Open, but he wasn't in the year he won it, either:

Provided he can avoid the kind of disaster he suffered in practice, McIlroy is likely to be in the frame over the weekend.

Spieth might be, too. As Golf Channel noted, his putting has been exceptional in recent majors:

The Open won't be won or lost purely on the greens, but if his putting is up to scratch, it will afford him more leeway on the fairways, which could be crucial if the conditions are difficult.

After capitulating at the Masters earlier this year and narrowly missing out on the play-off at last year's Open, he'll come with a point to prove.