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Ten years ago, the LPGA Tour had eight players earn at least $1 million in the season. One indication of how much has changed is Nasa Hataoka.
The 22-year-old from Japan earned more than $1 million from two runner-up finishes this year.
They came at events with the two biggest purses on the LPGA Tour, the U.S. Women’s Open and the CME Group Tour Championship. Even so, it was an example of how much stronger the purses are, and now the LPGA Tour heads into a 2022 season where prize money is pushing $90 million.
LPGA unveils 2022 schedule with 34 events, nearly $86 million in prize money
This is what Mollie Marcoux Samaan takes over as she begins her first full year as commissioner. She spoke last week about the LPGA Tour being positioned for growth and that “this is our time.”
“I think people have also had an awakening around women’s sports,” she said. “And they said, ‘Wow, this is an undervalued asset out in the world. We need to accentuate that value.’
“So I think generally, because of the world’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, I think people have looked at women’s sports and said, ‘That’s an area in the world that there’s not a great deal of parity or a great deal of equity.’”
The LPGA just completed its 72nd season, with 15 players earning $1 million or more.
Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko reflect on 2021 LPGA performances
Terry Duffy, the CEO and chairman of CME, has been among the biggest proponents by providing the largest first-place check, at $1.5 million. The CME Group Tour Championship has raised its purse by $2 million next year to $7 million, with $2 million going to the winner.
The LPGA Tour has 19 of its 34 official events with a purse of $2 million or higher, up from 15 such events five years ago.
The five majors have total prize money of at least $26.3 million, up from $18.7 million five years ago. Still to be determined is the U.S. Women’s Open, which has been looking for a presenting sponsor and could announce early…
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Source : yahoo
