The winner of Sunday’s Spain-Argentina final collects $50 million — the largest championship payout in World Cup history — while the runner-up takes $33 million. The figures come from FIFA’s record $655 million prize pool for the 2026 tournament, a 50% jump from Qatar 2022, when champion Argentina earned $42 million. Every finish is worth … Read more
Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina will be played in front of roughly 80,663 fans — MetLife Stadium’s official FIFA capacity, the largest of any U.S. venue in the tournament by more than 10,000 seats. With the match sold out and resale prices at record levels, the crowd in East Rutherford is expected … Read more
The referee for Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina is Slavko Vinčič of Slovenia — the first official from his country ever to take charge of a World Cup final, and only the 23rd person to referee one in the tournament’s history. The 46-year-old from Maribor was informed of the appointment by FIFA … Read more
The lowest final round ever shot at The Open Championship is 63 — done three times, and only once by the winner: Henrik Stenson’s ten-birdie masterpiece at Royal Troon in 2016 that beat Phil Mickelson in the greatest duel in major history. The other two belong to Payne Stewart, whose Sunday 63 at Royal St … Read more
The “ball moved at address” penalty that generations of golfers feared no longer exists. Under the modern Rules of Golf, in force since 2019, there is no automatic penalty when a ball moves after you’ve taken your stance or grounded your club. A one-stroke penalty applies only when it’s “known or virtually certain” — a … Read more
Sam Burns has earned about $40.7 million in official PGA Tour prize money — a total built on five victories, 46 top-10 finishes and remarkable consistency across roughly 197 career starts since turning pro in 2017. And the number is about to jump: Burns leads The Open Championship by two shots entering Sunday at Royal … Read more
Sam Burns’ caddie is Travis Perkins — and with Burns leading The Open Championship by two shots entering Sunday’s final round at Royal Birkdale, the man on the bag is 18 holes from a first major of his own. Perkins has been Burns’ only full-time caddie since he reached the PGA Tour in 2019, a … Read more
The Open Championship has crowned a Champion Golfer of the Year since 1860, making its winners list the oldest continuous record in major championship golf, older than the sport’s other three majors combined at the time of its founding. The names run from Old and Young Tom Morris through the Great Triumvirate, Palmer’s transatlantic revival, … Read more
If The Open Championship ends in a tie after 72 holes, the Claret Jug is decided by a three-hole aggregate playoff: the tied players go back out, play three designated holes, and the lowest combined score wins. If they’re still level after those three, it goes to sudden death, hole by hole, until someone breaks … Read more
Which Open Championship venue is the hardest? Measured by the most honest yardstick available — the average winning score relative to par in Opens since 1999 — the answer is Carnoustie among the regular hosts, with Turnberry’s lone modern Open technically posting a tougher number. At the other end, St Andrews, Royal Liverpool and Royal … Read more