World No.1 and reigning Open champion Scottie Scheffler has described his financial arrangement with long-term caddie Ted Scott as 'childish,' as the American heads into this week's tournament at Royal Birkdale as the bookmakers' favourite. Scheffler, who has earned over £85 million in prize money since Scott became his caddie in late 2021, admits he barely thinks about the money and leaves the details to others.
Scheffler's Open Defence and Prize Money
Scheffler arrives at Royal Birkdale aiming to avoid his first major-less season since 2023 after narrowly missing out at the Masters and US Open earlier this year. He lifted the Claret Jug for the first time at Royal Portrush 12 months ago and is the favourite ahead of world No.2 Rory McIlroy. The total prize fund for this year's Open has increased to $17.75 million (£13.3 million), up $750,000 (£560,000) from last year, with the winner set to earn $3.2 million (£2.4 million).
The Caddie Financial Arrangement
Victory would also be welcome news for Scott, who would receive a healthy cut. Although exact details are private, most caddies receive around 10% of winner's prize money, with smaller percentages for lower finishes. Many also receive a fixed salary. Scott, who previously worked with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, could collect $320,000 (£240,000) if Scheffler defends the title.
Remarkably, Scheffler admitted on the Pardon My Take podcast in 2024: 'I don't really think about the money that much. At the end of the day, I'm just playing golf and the money is just a gift on top of that. We have a girl that helps us pay bills because I'm basically a child and can't keep track of that stuff. She quickly took over that job and texts me at the end of each week saying, “Hey, this is how much we're paying Ted.” I'm like, “That's great.”'
Scheffler's Earnings and Scott's Share
According to the PGA Tour, Scheffler has earned more than $114 million (£85 million) in official prize money during his career, placing him third on the all-time list behind Tiger Woods and McIlroy. Approximately $105 million (£78 million) of that total has come since Scott took over his bag in late 2021, with Scheffler topping the PGA Tour's money list in each of the four subsequent seasons. Scott's share of prize money alone is likely to run into several millions of dollars, more than many of Scheffler's playing colleagues have taken home over the same period.
