The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner this week will carry off £734,000 – roughly the same amount that Scotland’s Paul Lawrie won for the first edition.
As prizemoney has gone off the scale in golf, the Dunhill has stayed consistent throughout its 21-year history.
Last year’s champion Danny Willett won $816,000 – the tournament organisers pay out in US dollars. But for a few fluctuations down the years, this has been the first prize since the start.
Replaced the Dunhill Cup in 2001
The event was previously the annual Dunhill Cup international team event played on the Old Course at St Andrews. It was changed to a three-venue celebration of links golf in 2001. It expanded to use Carnoustie and Kingbarns Links with a pro-am format.
In those years the Dunhill was the most lucrative event on the European Tour. Initially it paid out more money than some of the major championships.
Lawrie won that year with a dramatic final hole birdie from the Valley of Sin on the 18th at the Old Course. His winner’s cheque of £734,000 was double the amount he won for his Open title at Carnoustie just two years previously.
In all the prizefund at the Dunhill in 2022 amounts of $4.8 million (£4,470,432). Second place earns $523,000 (£487,090) and third place $302,400 (£281,400).
The Dunhill’s team event runs concurrently with the main tournament. Professionals are paired with amateurs, with some celebrities from film, music and sport, and prominent business people. The professional on the winning team earns a further $50,000 (£46,627).
The Dunhill has changed careers
It’s good to be back for the #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/k9VzPC3ogO
— Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (@dunhilllinks) September 26, 2022
The cash at the Dunhill can and has changed careers. Rory McIlroy, who is returning to play this week, famously finished third as a rookie pro in 2007 to win his tour playing rights for the first time.
There have been three Scottish winners of the Dunhill – Lawrie in the inaugural event, Stephen Gallacher in 2004 and Colin Montgomerie in 2005. The Dundee-based French professional Victor Perez won the title in 2019.
Other winners include Padraig Harrington (2002 and 2006), Lee Westwood (2003) and Tyrrell Hatton (2016 and 17).
Entry is free to spectators for the first three days with all three venues in play. There is an entry charge for the final round on Sunday, played on the Old Course.
The man behind the event
The tournament was and remains the brainchild of Johann Rupert, the billionaire South African businessman who is chair of Richemont, a Swiss-based luxury goods company which owns the Alfred Dunhill brand.
Mr Rupert is a long-time member of the R&A who was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of St Andrews in 2010.
A massive golf enthusiast, he funds the Sunshine Tour in his native South Africa and is an honorary vice-president of the DP World Tour.
Mr Rupert is also a keen supporter of individual South African and Scottish players. He has made significant financial contributions to amateur golf in Scotland. Mr Rupert plays in the Dunhill Links every year.