The LPGA Tour is Raising Purses
Major events are seeing purse increases up to 100%.
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Hey Golfers -
Last week, the LPGA Tour announced Chevron would assume the title sponsor of the ANA Inspiration. The ANA Inspiration is one of five LPGA major championships.
ANA Inspiration
U.S. Women’s Open
Women’s PGA Championship
The Evian Championship
Women’s British Open
The ANA Inspiration has held different title sponsors, including Nabisco Championship and Kraft Nabisco Championship. The sponsor change is significant for two reasons.
The 2022 purse will be increased 60% to $5 million
The tournament will be moving for the first time since its inception from Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, to the Houston area for the 2023 event
The latter has caused significant controversy for and against the move in the golf world. The ANA Inspiration was founded in 1972 by David Foster and Dinah Shore and played every year at Mission Hills Country Club since the tournament was founded.
The 2021 ANA Inspiration had a purse of $3,100,000, the 6th largest purse on the LPGA Tour. It paid 1st place $465,000. The purse increasing to $5 million is a significant increase for the event.
Lydia Ko - a Player Director on the LPGA Board of Directors, had the below to say about the announcement of Chevron assuming their new sponsorship role.
Having a global company like Chevron to support women’s golf is really exciting for everyone involved with the LPGA. Their aspirations for growing this major together with the LPGA and IMG are amazing for the future of our Tour. We have all made some lovely memories at Mission Hills over the years which we will enjoy celebrating in 2022 and take with us to The Chevron Championship’s new home, where I know we will make many more.
This isn’t the only event with a significant purse increase for the LPGA Tour in 2021. The AIG Women’s Open announced a massive increase earlier this year during the Women’s Open.
The 2022 AIG Women’s Open purse will be no less than $6.8 million. In August, AIG shocked the golf world when they announced the 2021 Women’s Open purse increased to $5.8 million from $4.5 million the year prior. The $6.8 million purse doubles from the 2018 purse, incredible.
Cognizant also announced a significant increase in the Cognizant Founders Cup. The purse is now $3 million, the 7th largest purse on the LPGA Tour. Only the five majors and the Tour Championship are larger in regards to purse size. The $3 million purse doubled from the prior year when it was tagged at $1,500,000.
The LPGA Tour has 33 tournaments on its schedule. Total purses equaled nearly $75 million for the 2021 season.
Top 10 LPGA Tour Purses:
AIG Women’s Open - $5,800,000
U.S. Women’s Open - $5,500,000
CME Group Tour Championship - $5,000,000
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship - $4,300,000
The Evian Championship - $4,100,000
ANA Inspiration - $3,100,000
Cognizant Founders Cup - $3,000,000
CP Women’s Open - $2,350,000
Meijer LPGA Classic - $2,300,000
Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational - $2,300,000
It is rumored that the USGA will be increasing the U.S. Women’s Open purse in the coming months. The USGA will need to increase the purse to around $7,000,000 to compete with the AIG Women’s Open during the 2022 season.
To recap - three tournaments on the LPGA Tour have increased their purses.
Cognizant Founders Cup - 100%
Chevron Championship - 60%
AIG Women’s Open - 17%
Have yourself a Monday, talk to you next week!
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