The fifth event of the LPGA Tour’s 2024 season will soon come to an end. The Blue Bay LPGA was the last event in the Asian Swing on the Tour. After playing three events on the continent, the Tour will move to the United States for the Seri Pak Championship in California. But before that, a winner will be announced at the Jian Lake Golf Club.

With a 6-figure check to be the victor’s, there are more perks to be earned at the Blue Bay LPGA as well. Who will come out on top and clinch the silverware with a share of the total prize fund of $118 million?

The winner’s cut at Blue Bay LPGA 

The event started in Hainan and had a field of 108 players batting against each other for recognition on the LPGA Tour. Out of which, only the top 65 and ties survived. And only one will get the 15% cut from the $2.2 million prize purse set for Blue Bay LPGA. The event’s prize pool is higher than any of the other two events played in Asia.

The Honda LPGA Thailand had prize money of $1.7 million and the HSBC Women’s World Championship boasted a $1.8 million purse. Hence, the winner’s cut will be significantly more, which is $330,00. Along with the paycheck, the winner will also receive 500 Race to CME Globe points, which helped to advance into the year-end $8 million CME Group Tour Championship.

Aside from this, the winner will have a two-year exemption on the LPGA Tour and will be confirmed at many elevated events in the league. As for the runner-up, she will bag, ideally, $207,516, while the last on the leaderboard will get only $5,112. The full prize money breakdown is below:

Three stars who are in contention at the Blue Bay LPGA after three rounds have ended Lydia Ko, Bailey Tardy, and Sarah Schmelzel. The win for Schmelzel and Tardy will make them one-time LPGA Tour winners. Whereas, for Ko, it will mean a pathway to something bigger that she has been waiting for this season.

Lydia Ko is one step closer to the Hall of Fame 

The Kiwi pro has won twenty times on the LPGA Tour while earning two Vare Trophies and two Player of the Year Awards. The many accolades of Lydia Ko have put her with 26 points on her resume and she needs only one point to match the 27-point criterion to be added to the LPGA Tour’s Hall of Fame. Ko won the season opener at the HGV Tournament of Champions and was later defeated in a playoff against Nelly Korda at the Drive-On Championship, shattering her dreams. 

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But as she is tied for the lead at the Blue Bay LPGA, the 20-time LPGA Tour winner might as well win the event to have the anticipated tag to her name If she does successfully achieve it, Ko will be making history as she will be the youngest player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the age of 26 years, 10 months and 15 days. Will Ko win the Hall of Fame or will someone else emerge victorious at the Blue Bay LPGA? Stay tuned to find out.

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