When The Open was first staged at Royal Portrush in 1951 Max Faulkner was handed a prize cheque of £300 from a prize pook of £1,700.

If Shane Lowry, or whoever is handed the Claret Jug later today, the first prize will be a whopping £1.56m from a 148th Open Championship prize fund of £8.65m and up £200,000 overall on last year.

Take the player who finishes this week at Royal Portrush as he will earn just short of £20,000.

“The Open is a global sporting event and our priority is to ensure that this is reflected in the prize fund,” said R & A CEO Martin Slumbers at Wednesday’s press conference at Royal Portrush.