As the Champion Golfer of the Year, Xander Schauffele gets his name etched into the history books but there are plenty more benefits to winning The Open as well.
In this day and age, winners of any pro events, but especially Majors, walk away with no shortage of exemptions and prize money. So without further ado, we list some of the perks that the now-two-time Major champion receives after his stunning win at Royal Troon.
1. Claret Jug
First thing to mention is undoubtedly the prestige of winning the oldest Major Championship in golf. That in itself, and the name being etched into history, is a perk.
Adding to that Schauffele also receives arguably the best trophy in the sport too in the Claret Jug, which was first awarded in 1873. He'll get to keep it for an entire year. Once he returns the original trophy at Royal Portrush next year he'll be given a replica to keep forever.
2. Gold Medal
The Open originally gave a Challenge Belt to its winner, but this was permanently given to Young Tom Morris after he won three consecutive tournaments.
It was replaced by the Gold Medal from 1872, which winners still receive. The gold medal gets engraved with the course, champion's name and number of strokes they took en route to victory.
This means Schauffele now has an Olympic and an Open winner's gold medal - very cool!
3. Title of 'Champion Golfer of the Year'
When you win the other three Majors, you also become a Major champion but you don't get your name announced as Champion Golfer of the Year like you do when you go to pick up the Claret Jug.
“Champion Golfer of the Year is such a cool title,” Jordan Spieth told the R&A. “When those words were spoken on the green at Birkdale, it just kind of hit me.
“It was almost like someone had kind of punched me in the gut – in the best way possible. You need to realise how special this is and embrace what it means.”
4. Prize Money
This year's Champion Golfer of the Year wins the largest first prize in the championship's history after The Open prize money was raised to a record $17m.
It gets raised seemingly every year to keep up with the huge money in the game, with Schauffele taking home a huge $3.1m.
While that is life-changing money for most, it's actually well short of the prize money on offer at PGA Tour Signature events, LIV Golf tournaments and also the other three men's Majors.
The US Open has the largest purse, with $4.5m going to the 2024 champion Bryson DeChambeau.
Schauffele won $3.15m at the PGA Championship two months ago, so needless to say, his bank balance is doing well. His PGA Tour earnings for the 2024 season are now around $15.9m.
5. Exemptions
Xander Schauffele, as Champion Golfer of the Year, now has guaranteed entry to all future Open Championships until the age of 55 . This was recently reduced, having previously been 60.
He also gains five year exemptions to The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and Players Championship, plus membership to both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour for five years - albeit he already received these for his PGA win in May.
Lifting the Claret Jug also ensure an automatic invitation to three of the five senior Majors once Schauffele turns 50, with a one-year invitation to the US Senior Open and a lifetime invitation to the Senior PGA Championship and Senior Open Championship.
6. Ranking points
Schauffele picks up the maximum 100 Official World Golf Ranking points after winning at Troon. It will take him up to 2nd in the world.
All Major championships offer up 100 OWGR points to the winner.
7. FedEx Cup points
Schauffele wins the maximum regular-season allowance of 750 points, which is the same as the other three Majors as well as the Players Championship.
Signature Events offer 700, regular events offer 500 but nothing compares to the 2,000 points that go to the first two Playoff tournament winners. Still, it's a huge tally that goes a long way to securing a spot at East Lake for the Tour Championship finale.
What does the runner-up get at The Open?
While the runner-up misses out on the above perks, they do get the Silver Salver trophy as well as $1.759m in prize money.
The top-10-and-ties make it into next year's Open so a runner-up guarantees your spot in the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush to have another crack at winning the Claret Jug.
