The KPMG LPGA Championship doubled its purse, which now stands at nine million.
Posted at 8:48 p.m.
The measure brought the prize pool of the five major tournaments on the circuit to almost triple the amount of ten years ago.
The purse for the second-oldest major LPGA tournament is now 300% higher than it was in 2014.
In 2015, KPMG and the PGA of America teamed up with the LPGA to raise the purses and profile of women’s golf, giving the circuit high-profile courses as showcases.
The LPGA Championship begins Thursday at Congressional, which has hosted the U.S. Men’s Open on three occasions.
The winner will receive 1.35 million.
The USGA has signed a presenting sponsor (ProMedica) for the US Women’s Open.
Thus, we almost doubled the purse of what was already the largest sum at stake, among the major tournaments of the LPGA.
Minjee Lee won 1.8 million of a total purse of 10 million earlier this month at the Pine Needles club.
The Evian Amundia championship in France has already announced an increase of two million, for a purse of 6.8 million.
The AIG British Open has offered steady increases with a new presenting sponsor, also reaching 6.8 million.
The Chevron Championship had a purse of five million, nearly two million more than the previous year.
This brings the prize money for the five major tournaments to 37.3 million; in 2012, the same competitions brought in 13.75 million.