Nelly Korda’s Efforts Fall Short Against PGA Tour’s Might as Scottie Scheffler Gets the Final Laugh

Nelly Korda and Scottie Scheffler have been on a run unseen in recent times. The two world no. 1s have already raked in nine titles from a combined 16 appearances. Korda matched Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez’s streak of five straight victories. Scheffler, meanwhile, claimed four titles in the last five tournaments he played. Two of them were Signature Events; one was major, and the other was the PLAYERS Championship.

From the numbers alone, it won’t seem that their heroics are separated by almost $13 million in earnings. In fact, this week alone, the world no. 1 on the men’s side has pocketed $1.4 million more than his female counterpart. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

The Nelly Korda-Scottie Scheffler divide exists only on paycheck

Nelly Korda pocketed $2,400,000 for her Chevron Championship triumph, her fifth straight victory this year. The next day the world No. 1 on the men’s side netted $3.6 million for his three-shot victory over Sahith Theegala. A week ago, Scheffler earned $3.6 million at Augusta for his second Masters victory in three years. In total, Scheffler has earned around $18 million in the last two months.

The ten-time PGA Tour winner has nine top-10s from his ten appearances. Only once has the current Masters champion finished outside of the top-15. With four titles and a T2, Scottie Scheffler has pocketed nearly eight times more than Nelly Korda in a similar span of time.

Since the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the 27-year-old has earned $16,253,735, courtesy of two Signature Events victories that earned him $7.5 million. At TPC Sawgrass, Scottie Scheffler nabbed $4.5 million. In between, a T2 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open offered $533, 735. 

For Nelly Korda, it’s pretty straightforward. She won five straight tournaments, earning paychecks of various sizes, but more or less equal. $300,000 for the T-Mobile Match Play, and the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. $337.500 for the Ford Championship, and $262,500 for the LGPA Drive Oon Championship. Barring the Chevron Championship, Korda won less than what Scheffler did for his second-place finish at Texas. 

Notably, the Chevron Championship carried a purse of $7.9 million compared to the $20 million for the Masters. Even without the Signature Events, the majors, and the FedEx Cup Playoffs, 18 PGA Tour regular events have equal or better purses than the Chevron Championship. Interestingly, the $7.9 million is the highest in the first major’s history.

Should LPGA players ask for more?

It’s not that the LPGA Tour hasn’t tried to change the situation. This year’s purse size is the highest for the elite female circuit. Since 2021, the total purse has gone up by 69%. Other than majors, at least ten tournaments have $3 million or more on offer.

The season-ending CME Group Tour Championship will have an elevated purse of $11 million as well. The $4 million winner’s paycheck matches what PGA Tour players earn at Signature events and what LIV Golfers pocket at every tournament. Interest in the LPGA Tour has grown. That was evident last year, too. The viewership for the Chevron Championship peaked at 1.54 million, as NBC continued to broadcast the playoff even after its scheduled runtime ended.

Perhaps as further validation and recognition of Korda’s historic moment, ESPN+ partnered with the LPGA Tour. There were 40+ hours of live coverage. Despite all that, the staggering divide between Nelly Korda and Scottie Scheffler shows that there is still a long way to go. 

Interestingly, Stacy Lewis, the US Solheim Cup captain, said that Korda, perhaps, needs to do more to grow the LPGA Tour in any way possible. Perhaps a heavy push is indeed called for. Although tennis majors offer the same amount now, it came after a long struggle. Serena Williams dealt a decisive blow through an open letter in 2016.

“So when the subject of equal pay comes up, it frustrates me because I know firsthand that I, like you, have done the same work and made the same sacrifices as our male counterparts. I would never want my daughter to be paid less than my son for the same work. Nor would you.”

Should Nelly Korda be more vocal about the wage gap and the persistent coverage issues? That’s for her to decide. But the eye-popping pay gap evinces that equal pay is not any closer, despite LPGA’s efforts for the last few years.