There are a lot of perks that come with winning the US Open in golf.
Aside from the US Open first-place prize money, which is $3.6 million, or 18 percent of the total purse, a US Open winner earns entry into the US Open for 10 years, entry into the other three majors for years to come, as well as PGA Tour exemptions and other goodies.
Let's lay out all the benefits of winning the US Open, showing what the US Open winner gets
The perks of winning the US Open: What a US Open winner gets
- Prestige, obviously -- you're in a limited company of players to ever win the US Open
- The US Open trophy: US Open champions get a trophy that is theirs to keep for a year as champion and return ahead of the next US Open, a replica of which they can purchase and keep
- Lifetime exemption: You're in the US Open for the next 10 years
- Other major exemptions: You're in the Masters, Open Championship and PGA Championship for five years
- The Players exemption: You're in The Players Championship, which has the biggest purse in golf, for five years
- You get a 5-year exemption on the PGA Tour for winning a major, and you can pretty much set your schedule for two years
- You get a spot in the Tournament of Champions
- You get 100 Official World Golf Ranking points, which pretty much locks up a spot in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 18 months, no matter what
- You get 600 FedEx Cup points
- You get big Ryder Cup points if you're an American or European player
