The championship with the richest prize money payout in women’s golf just got a little richer. On Wednesday, the USGA announced that the overall purse for the 81st U.S. Women’s Open, being held at famed Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles, was on the rise again, increasing $500,000 to a total payout of $12.5 million.
That sum is large even in a vacuum, but what makes it truly notable is the fact that just five years ago, the championship’s purse was only $5.5 million. It’s part of a conscious plan that the USGA embarked on when signing a presenting sponsor in order to help invest in the championship, first with ProMedica and now with Ally.
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“I must say that we’re quite proud of that, in that going back to 2022 when we really stepped up our purse and increased to $10 million, and that journey continues,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championship officer, during a press conference on Wednesday at Riviera. “We’re proud that it continues this year, and we’re proud to lead on that front as we lift up the women’s game.”
The increase is part of an overall trend in rising prize money payouts in the women’s game. The LPGA is giving out a total of $132 million this season, an all-time high. (In 2022, the number of $88.9 million.) And in April at the Chevron Championship, the tournament boasted its biggest payday of $9 million.
Similarly, the purses at the other women’s majors also have seen impressive growth in recent years. Take a look:
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: $12 million in 2025, $4.5 million in 2021 AIG Women’s Open: $9.75 million in 2025; $4.5 million in 2020 Chevron Championship: $9 million in 2026; $3.1 million in 2021 Amundi Evian Championship: $8 million in 2025; $4.5 million in 2021
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As for the winner’s payday in the U.S. Women’s Open, the champion, Nelly Korda, took home $2.5 million.
“The women deserve to play with the monetary returns that we’re providing, and the game is following, and we want to lift that side of it up, the experience that the players have and how they can recover from a day on the golf course and all of those things,” Bodenhamer said. “We’re thinking about it holistically. We’re treating the men and the women equitably in that manner. What we do at the U.S. Open, we’ll do at the U.S. Women’s Open. That’s really important.
“But I think it’s just a holistic approach and trying to lift up and be inspirational to those that are coming in future generations, the little girls and the little boys.”
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We’ve charted the growth in the U.S. Women’s Open before, but it’s worth showing again if only to remind everyone that that the overall purse for the U.S. Women’s Open didn’t pass $10,000 until 1965, the 20th year of the championship. And a winner of the major didn’t make $10,000 until 1977.
Here’s a historic look at the prize money payouts in the championship for context about this year’s historic payday:
YEAR: WINNER, OVERALL PURSE, WINNER’S SHARE 1947: Betty Jameson, $7,500, $1,200 1966: Sandra Spuzich, $20,000 $4,000 1975: Sandra Palmer, $55,000, $8,044 1977: Hollis Stacy, $75,000, $11,040 1978: Hollis Stacy, $100,000, $15,000 1990: Betsy King, $500,000, $85,000 1995: Annika Sorenstam, $1 million, $175,000 2000: Karrie Webb, $2.75 million, $500,000 2014: Michelle Wie, $4 million, $720,000 2017: Sung-Hyun Park, $5 million, $900,000 2019: Jeuong Lee6, $5.5 million, $1 million 2022: Minjee Lee, $10 million, $1.8 million 2023: Allisen Corpuz, $11 million, $2 million 2024: Yuka Saso, $12 million, $2.4 million2025: Maja Stark $12 million, $2.4 million
The specific prize money payout breakdown came out on Saturday after they’ve made the cut. Here’s how it breaks down in 2026. We’ll update this after play on Sunday with names and individual paydays.
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Win : Nelly Korda, -8/276, $2,500,000
T-2: Charley Hull, -7/277, $1,089,773
T-2: Gaby Lopez, -7/277, $1,089,773
4 : In Gee Chun, -6/278, $581,535
5 : Sei Young Kim, -5/279, $484,363
T-6 : Kiara Romera, -3/281, Amateur
T-6 : Nasa Hataoka, -3/281, $429,478
T-8: Pajaree Anannarukarn, -2/282, $324,696
T-8: Allisen Corpuz, -2/282, $324,696
T-8: Maja Stark, -2/282, $324,696
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T-8: Maria Jose Marin, -2/282, Amateur
T-8: Ruoning Yin, -2/282, $324,696
T-8: Jennifer Kupcho, -2/282, $324,696
T-14: Lauren Coughlin, -1/283, $182,576
T-14: Shiho Kuwaki, -1/283, $182,576
T-14: Alison Lee, -1/283, $182,576
T-17: Hinako Shibuno, E/284, $161,787
T-17: Aphrodite Deng , E/284, Amateur
T-19: A Lim Kim, 1/285, $171,766
T-19: Jinhee Im, 1/285, $171,766
T-19: Minji Kang, 1/285, $171,766
T-22: Grace Kim, 2/286, $133,545
T-22: Brooke Henderson, 2/286, $133,545
T-22: Patty Tavatanakit, 2/286, $133,545
T-22: Shuri Sakuma, 2/286, $133,545
T-22: Karis Davidson, 2/286, $133,545
T-22: Asterisk Talley, 2/286, Amateur
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T-28: Yuri Yoshida, 3/287, $94,988
29 : Hannah Green, 3/287, $94,988
30 : Xiyu Janet Lin, 3/287, $94,988
31 : Minjee Lee, 3/287, $94,988
32: Jeeno Thitkul, 3/287, $94,988
33 : Sora Kamiya, 3/287, $94,988
T-34: Lucy Li, 4/288, $72,922
T-34: Jiyai Shin, 4/288, $72,922
T-34: Farah O’Keefe, 4/288, Amateur
T-34: Ana Belac, 4/288, $72,922
T-34: Miyu Yamashita, 4/288, $72,922
T-34: Hyunjo Yoo, 4/288, $72,922
T-40: Somi Lee, 5/289, $57,729
T-40: Melanie Green, 5/289, $57,729
T-40: Ayaka Furue, 5/289, $57,729
T-40: Casandra Alexander, 5/289, $57,729
T-40: Amy Yang, 5/289, $57,729
T-45: Rose Zhang, 6/290, $46,402
T-45: Aki Iwai, 6/290, $46,402
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T-45: Rio Takeda, 6/290, $46,402
T-45: DaYeon Lee, 6/290, $46,402
T-49: Hye-Jin Choi, 7/291, $35,500
T-49: Bianca Pagdanganan, 7/291, $35,500
T-49: Kaieiya Romero, 7/291, $35,500
T-49: Esther Henseleit, 7/291, $35,500
T-49: Lottie Woad, 7/291, $35,500
T-54: Yealimi Noh, 8/292, $28,016
T-54: Minsol Kim, 8/292, $28,016
T-54: Anna Nordqvist, 8/292, $28,016
T-54: Chia Yen Wu, 8/292, $28,016
T-54: Nanna Koerstz Madsen, 8/292, $28,016
59 : Mao Saigo, 9/293, $26,444
T-60: Liqi Zeng, 10/294, $26,495
T-60: Ingrid Lindblad, 10/294, $26,495
T-60: Julia Lopez Ramirez, 10/294, $26,495
T-60: Ariya Jutanugarn, 10/294, $26,495
T-60: Sakura Koiwai, 10/294, $26,495
65: Gurleen Kaur, 11/295, $24,947
66: Celine Boutier, 12/296, $24,698
67: Nataliya Guseva, 13/297, $24,448
68: Yue Zhang, 14/298, $24,199
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