1997 Open Championship prize money
Justin Leonard won the 1997 Open Championship on 20 July 1997 and took $418,875. Below is every one of the 22 cheques paid that week, in finishing order, down to the $9,425 Steve Stricker collected for finishing T62.
Every cheque at the 1997 Open Championship
20 July 1997
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | TO PAR | TOTAL | PRIZE MONEY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Leonard | USA | -12 | 272 | $418,875 |
| 4 | Jim Furyk | USA | -5 | 279 | $150,795 |
| T5 | Padraig Harrington | IRL | -4 | 280 | $104,719 |
| T7 | Fred Couples | USA | -3 | 281 | $68,137 |
| T10 | Davis Love III | USA | -2 | 282 | $40,715 |
| T10 | Ernie Els | RSA | -2 | 282 | $40,715 |
| T10 | Lee Westwood | ENG | -2 | 282 | $40,715 |
| T10 | Retief Goosen | RSA | -2 | 282 | $40,715 |
| T10 | Robert Allenby | AUS | -2 | 282 | $40,715 |
| T20 | José María Olazábal | ESP | -1 | 283 | $24,295 |
| T20 | Stuart Appleby | AUS | -1 | 283 | $24,295 |
| T24 | Jay Haas | USA | 0 | 284 | $17,362 |
| T24 | Peter Lonard | AUS | 0 | 284 | $17,362 |
| T24 | Phil Mickelson | USA | 0 | 284 | $17,362 |
| T24 | Tiger Woods | USA | 0 | 284 | $17,362 |
| T24 | Tom Lehman | USA | 0 | 284 | $17,362 |
| T38 | Bernhard Langer | GER | 4 | 288 | $12,650 |
| T38 | Michael Bradley | USA | 4 | 288 | $12,650 |
| T38 | Vijay Singh | FIJ | 4 | 288 | $12,650 |
| T44 | Jerry Kelly | USA | 5 | 289 | $11,812 |
| T51 | Ángel Cabrera | ARG | 7 | 291 | $10,315 |
| T62 | Steve Stricker | USA | 10 | 294 | $9,425 |
The top of the ladder
The fifteen biggest cheques of the week took $1,064,139 between them, against $86,864 shared by the other seven players paid.
The 22 cheques above come to $1,151,003 between them. We hold 24 players for the week in all, so two of them took no money: a missed cut, a withdrawal or an amateur place. A place written as T4 is a tie, and everyone tied for it was paid the same.
The other Open Championship years
30 editions, 1996 to 2026
The 1996 ladder is the edition before this one, won by Tom Lehman. The 1998 ladder is the one after. The Open Championship roll of honour carries every champion and what each win paid.
The rest of the 1997 golf year
sixteen other tournaments we hold a 1997 prize list for, in the order they were played.
The biggest cheque of 1997 was the $470,000 paid at the PGA Championship, won by Davis Love III.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the 1997 Open Championship?
Justin Leonard, on 20 July 1997. The win paid $418,875.
How much did the 1997 Open Championship pay out?
The 22 cheques on this page come to $1,151,003 between them, from $418,875 at the top down to $9,425.
What was the smallest cheque at the 1997 Open Championship?
$9,425, which Steve Stricker collected for finishing T62.
How many players were paid at the 1997 Open Championship?
22. We hold 24 players for that week in all, so two of them took no money: a missed cut, a withdrawal or an amateur place.
Where to next
The rest of the golf money
Golf tournament prize money carries the roll of honour for every event we hold, and golf earnings ranks the players by what they have won across their careers. Where a field is paid for every round it survives rather than once at the end, see Champions League prize money, and for a single event that pays a whole field on one night, World Championship darts prize money.