It was an eventful Sunday for golf. We saw two different winners lift two major trophies, which in turn came with a massively different paycheck.

Padraig Harrington lifted a major trophy in Columbus, and Chris Gotterup pocketed nearly twice as much money in Silvis.

Harrington won the 2026 U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, shooting a final-round 66 to finish at 12-under 268, four shots clear of Stewart Cink.

His winner's check from the $4 million purse: $800,000. Harrington's win was a historic one. The 54-year-old became only the second player, after Miller Barber, to win the U.S. Senior Open three times in the tournament's 46-year history. He was also the only player to shoot under 70 in all four rounds and finished the week without a single three-putt.

That same afternoon in Silvis, Illinois, Gotterup closed with a 9-under 62 at the John Deere Classic, for his third PGA Tour title of the 2026 season and the fifth of his career. He collected $1,584,000 from an $8.8 million purse, and flew home with double the cash.

The comparison is built into the numbers. A major championship on the senior circuit paid the winner $800,000.

Max Homa collected $959,200 for finishing runner-up at the John Deere, $159,200 more than Harrington earned for winning a major, according to GolfChannel. Cink took home $432,000 for his runner-up finish at Scioto.

At Scioto, Ian Poulter finished fourth at 5-under 275 and earned $181,376. George McNeill finished third at 6-under 274 and took home $258,746.

The prize-money Cascade: how far the purses trickle down

At the John Deere Classic, Ben Kohles, Lucas Glover, and Lee Hodges tied for third place. Each player earned $466,400.

Mac Meissner, Jackson Suber, and Doug Ghim tied for sixth place, and each earned $297,000. Zach Johnson, Ryo Hisatsune, and Zac Blair tied for ninth place, and each received $239,800. Amateur Preston Stout finished tied for 15th but did not receive any prize money.

At the U.S. Senior Open, Retief Goosen and Jamie Donaldson shared fifth at $135,260 each.

Notable finishers included Pat Perez at T-8, Henrik Stenson and Ernie Els at T-11, and Michael Block at T-31. Haymes Snedeker, brother of Brandt Snedeker, finished as low amateur at T-36.

Every professional who missed the Senior Open cut received $4,000.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar