British Open prize money increased

(Reuters) - The winner of next week's British Open at Royal Liverpool will pocket 975,000 pounds ($1.66 million), a rise of 30,000 pounds on 2013. The Royal and Ancient (R&A) organizers said in a statement on Monday that total prize money would be 5.4 million pounds ($9.19 million), 150,000 pounds up on last year. American Phil Mickelson won the famous Claret Jug at Muirfield 12 months ago after finishing three shots ahead of Sweden's Henrik Stenson.Japan's Ryo Ishikawa and England's Ross Fisher have been named as the number one and two on the reserve list in case of player withdrawals from the event that starts on July 17. (Reporting by Michael Hann, editing by Tony Goodson)