Women’s golf saw another major champion, Amy Yang, crowned on Sunday, June 23. The 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship kicked off on June 20, Thursday and saw four scintillating days of play at the Sahalee Country Club. With a talented field featuring the likes of Yang, Lauren Hartlage, and Lexi Thompson, many in the community were, without a doubt, wondering who among the field would emerge victorious. However, one can’t help but become curious about what the tournament would award its champion. Is it just the title and the trophy? Enter the dollar bills that make up the total prize pool!
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, as per the LPGA Tour, increased its prize purse by a sum of $400,000 as opposed to its 2023 edition, which saw the money totaling a whopping $10 million. Out of the $10.4 million that is set aside for the event this year, a cut of $1.56 million will be awarded to Amy Yang. The new pool poses nothing short of wonderful news to the golfers in the field. It bumped the total prize money for the LPGA Tour in the 2024 season to a record-breaking $125 million.
The figures for the champ, at the same time, make the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship the event that boasts the third-highest first-place prize on the current season of the circuit. It also makes it the 6th event in the league to have a winner’s share of above $1 million. While the exact breakdown hasn’t been made public yet, let’s see what it was like in 2023.
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Last year, winner Ruoning Yin had taken home $1.5 million compared to the $875,130 that runner-up Yuka Saso received. 2016 champion Brooke Henderson, meanwhile, had finished at T15 and was awarded $125,531. As for Lexi Thompson, who placed T47, she took home $35,071. And Lucy Li, who finished last in 79th place, received $17,089. With $400,000 added to the prize pool this year and the winner set to receive $60,000 more than in 2023, it’s safe to say that the remaining $340,000 will ensure a significant increase in payout throughout the field, too.
Update: The prize money breakdown has been announced. Here it is: –
Position | Money |
1 | $1,560,000 |
2 | $980,987 |
3 | $711,633 |
4 | $550,505 |
5 | $443,093 |
6 | $362,532 |
7 | $303,454 |
8 | $265,860 |
9 | $239,004 |
10 | $217,520 |
11 | $201,403 |
12 | $187,973 |
13 | $176,158 |
14 | $165,419 |
15 | $155,750 |
16 | $147,157 |
17 | $139,645 |
18 | $133,197 |
19 | $127,825 |
20 | $123,528 |
21 | $119,237 |
22 | $114,935 |
23 | $110,644 |
24 | $106,341 |
25 | $102,586 |
26 | $98,830 |
27 | $95,062 |
28 | $91,300 |
29 | $87,544 |
30 | $84,323 |
31 | $81,096 |
32 | $77,875 |
33 | $74,654 |
34 | $71,427 |
35 | $68,747 |
36 | $66,061 |
37 | $63,381 |
38 | $60,688 |
39 | $58,002 |
40 | $55,857 |
41 | $53,712 |
42 | $51,566 |
43 | $49,409 |
44 | $47,264 |
45 | $45,653 |
46 | $44,037 |
47 | $42,426 |
48 | $40,816 |
49 | $39,205 |
50 | $37,595 |
51 | $36,525 |
52 | $35,449 |
53 | $34,368 |
54 | $33,304 |
55 | $32,222 |
56 | $31,147 |
57 | $30,077 |
58 | $29,001 |
59 | $27,931 |
60 | $26,856 |
61 | $26,321 |
62 | $25,774 |
63 | $25,245 |
64 | $24,710 |
65 | $24,164 |
After confirming the record-breaking purse for the event, LPGA Tour Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan gave a special tribute to KPMG and how the major’s title sponsor has helped the Tour’s profile in the past decade. Considering the LPGA Tour-KPMG partnership started in 2015, Marcoux Samaan said, “I don’t think you can talk about the growth of the LPGA over the last decade without saying the words’ KPMG.’ “Going from $2.25 million to $10.4 million this year, 360% growth, it’s not just about the money.”
“It’s that the world is showing the value they place and that KPMG and the PGA of America places on the talent that we have out here. These are the best women in the world, and they should be paid commensurate with that talent,” she added. Besides the significant prize money, the major also awards world ranking points, not to mention points on the Race to CME Globe standings. The winner will receive a whopping 100 points on the Rolex Rankings, just like Ruoning Yin garnered in 2023, while raking in a total of 650 Race To CME Globe points.
While the benefits offered are a true push for many LPGA Tour Pros to showcase their best golf at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, only one can clinch victory, and it was Amy Yang. Owing to her victory, Yang quashed the hopes of the No. 2 golfer in the rankings…
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Lilia Vu lost the chance to reclaim the No. 1 spot after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
A win at the Meijer LPGA Classic helped Vu close the gap between herself and Nelly Korda, the latter of whom had placed herself at No. 1 on the Rolex Rankings. The former had clinched the top spot back in 2023 after a win at the AIG Women’s Open and further cemented her place with a win at the 2023 Annika Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.
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Korda, however, overtook her with 6 wins in the 2024 season, including 5 straight ones. But 3 consecutive missed cuts by the 25-year-old had painted a hopeful picture for Vu, as long as she emerged victorious at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Unfortunately, Vu finished at T2 with 2 other professionals – Jin Young Ko and Miyu Yamashita.
Fans sure witnessed an exciting 4 days at the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Well, let us know which, in your opinion, was the moment of the day at the final round of the third major of the season that took place at the Sahalee Country Club!