Ten years ago, eight LPGA Tour players had made at least $ 1 million that season. One indication of how much has changed is Nasa Hataoka.
The 22-year-old Japanese earned more than $ 1 million this year with two runner-ups.
They came to events with the two largest purses of the LPGA Tour, the US Women’s Open and the CME Group Tour Championship. Even so, it was an example of how much stronger the wallets are, and now the LPGA Tour is heading into a 2022 season that sees prize money soaring $ 90 million.
BY Brentley Romine
– November 19, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.
While the 2021 campaign at Tiburon Golf Club is coming to an end, the LPGA announced its competition schedule for 2022 on Friday.
Mollie Marcoux Samaan will do this for her first full year as a commissioner. She spoke last week about the LPGA Tour being geared towards growth and that “this is our time”.
“I think people have seen an awakening around women’s sports too,” she said. “And they said, ‘Wow, that’s an undervalued asset in the world. We need to emphasize this value. ‘
“I think in general, because of the global focus on diversity, equality and inclusion, people have looked at women’s sport and said, ‘This is an area in the world where there isn’t a lot of equality or a lot of equality.'”
The LPGA has just completed its 72nd season, with 15 players making $ 1 million or more.
Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko reflect on the LPGA appearances in 2021
Terry Duffy, the CEO and Chairman of CME, is among its biggest proponents by putting the largest check in first place at $ 1.5 million. The CME Group Tour Championship increased their prize pool by $ 2 million to $ 7 million next year, with $ 2 million going to the winner.
The LPGA Tour has 19 of its 34 official events valued at $ 2 million or more, up from 15 such events five years ago.
The five majors have a total of at least $ 26.3 million in prize money, up from $ 18.7 million five years ago. The US Women’s Open has yet to be determined. They were looking for a presenting sponsor and could announce the biggest wallet in women’s golf at the beginning of next year.
There is still a big gap to be filled with the PGA Tour, where 16 players have made $ 1 million or more in just nine fall events to kick off the new season.
“We are constantly looking at all levels of the tour. How are our top players financially, how are the middle players, how are the bottom players? We pay attention to fair wages, ”said Marcoux Samaan. “We’re looking at the deltas between the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour, and the delta gets bigger as you go down the money list.
“I think if we can close this delta and if we can make sure that the top players in the world can make a living according to their talent, I think that’s a really big goal of ours.”