Last year, Zach Johnson took home 1.15 million pounds for winning the 2015 British Open. At the time of his win, the exchange rate was 1 pound to 1.56 U.S. dollars, so this equated to roughly $1.8 million. As you know, things have changed since July 2015 for Britain.
The Brits recently voted in favor of exiting the European Union, and the power of the pound has plummeted as a result. The exchange rate from pounds to U.S. dollars currently 1 to 1.3, which is the lowest it has been in quite a while. As a result, an American winner of The Open this year would not receive as much as Johnson did last year even though the prize money has increased from 1.15 million pounds to 1.175 million.
If the tournament ended today, at the current exchange rate, an American would take home $1.53 million or nearly $300,000 less than last year. That's not insignificant!
The lesson, as always, is never leave the European Union with the biggest golf tournament of the year looming just over the horizon.
