£2.3m: Biggest top prize in golf announced

The biggest first prize in golf will be on offer on the European Tour this year as part of changes to the final three Rolex Series events.

The winner of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai will pocket US$3 million (£2.3m), an increase of 125% on the US$1.33m (£1.03m) won by Danny Willett in November.

For the last two years Brooks Koepka has claimed the biggest first prize for an individual tournament, the world No 2 winning US$2.16m for his back-to-back US Open victories.

The winner of this year’s Players Championship will collect USD 2.25m (£1.7m) for victory at Sawgrass.

In addition to the increased purse in Dubai, the winners of the preceding events - the Turkish Airlines Open and Nedbank Golf Challenge – will now collect US$2m (£1.5m) and US$2.5m (£1.9m) respectively.

The field sizes for the final three events of the season have also been revised, with the top 70 on the Race to Dubai qualifying for Turkey, the top 60 progressing to South Africa and the leading 50 competing in Dubai.

A US$5m (£3.8m) bonus pool will now be divided between the final top five on the Race to Dubai, rather than the top 10, with the 2019 winner earning US$2m (£1.5m).

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley will hope such changes can attract some of the game’s biggest stars, with Rory McIlroy having only committed to play two regular events in 2019 to date.

“The changes we have announced today in terms of enhanced winner’s cheques, Race to Dubai points and Bonus Pool dividend are designed to increase the excitement around the end of the season for our fans, as well as encourage greater top player participation in our final three events,” Pelley said.

“With the revised prize money breakdown and the extra Race to Dubai points in place for 2019, this provides a tremendous incentive for our players.”

Picture: Getty Images. Brooks Koepka picked up $2.16m for his US Open victory last year.