LONDON: This year’s British Open winner will collect a record 1.15 million pounds ($1.81 million) in prize money, organizers said on Wednesday.

The purse is 175,000 pounds up on last year’s tournament, won by Rory McIlroy, with the overall prize fund rising to 6.3 million pounds, up 900,000 on 2014.

The runner-up will pocket 653,000 pounds with the third-placed finisher taking home 420,000 pounds.

Announcing the bumper pot, Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the Royal & Ancient (R&A), said: “The Open is one of the world’s pre-eminent sporting events. The Championship represents the pinnacle for the world’s greatest golfers and this increase is appropriate for an event with The Open’s global appeal.”

This year’s championship, the 144th, will be played at St. Andrews in Scotland from July 16-19.

9 spots to British Open available on PGA Tour this week

Kevin Kisner had to wait until a week before the US Open to find out for certain that he had a spot in the field at Chambers Bay.

He’ll have a little more time to prepare for the next major.

As many as nine spots for the British Open are available this week at the Travelers Championship.

Kisner is not playing, though that shouldn’t matter. The leading five players, not already exempt, from the top 20 in the FedEx Cup will be part of the field at St. Andrews next month.

Kisner already has playoff losses at Hilton Head and The Players Championship. His tie for 12th at Chambers Bay moved him up to No. 14 in the FedEx Cup, making him virtually a lock for the British Open.

Charley Hoffman (No. 6) and Robert Streb (No. 11) also are set to be exempt. Both won PGA Tour events in the fall. Steve Bowditch, who won the AT&T Byron Nelson, is at No. 18. He essentially needs to make sure he stays in the top 20 after Travelers to be exempt.

Everyone else from the top 20 already is in the British Open. Daniel Berger, the tour rookie who lost in a playoff at the Honda Classic, is at No. 27 and would need third place alone to get into the top 20. But then, third place would get him to St. Andrews, anyway.

The leading four players who finish in the top 12 at the TPC River Highlands also are exempt. The Travelers is the first of three PGA Tour events where top finishers can get into St. Andrews. There are four spots available at The Greenbrier Classic, and one spot at the John Deere Classic.

Aussie omen

Anyone looking to win a major might want to consider playing the Australian Open this year.

Rory McIlroy was going through one of his slumps in 2013 after switching equipment and going through a management change. He finally won at the end of the year in the Australian Open when he birdied the last hole to beat Adam Scott.

The next year, he won back-to-back majors at the British Open and PGA Championship.

Jordan Spieth was winless on the PGA Tour in 2014 until he found his form late, starting with a 63 in the final round to win the Australian Open.

He has won the past two majors.