Purses and prize money have skyrocketed in women’s pro golf in recent years, and that trend is continuing in 2026. First, the Chevron Championship announced a big increase. Now the AIG Women’s Open is following suit.
On Tuesday, the R&A announced that at the 2026 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, players will be competing for record purse of $10 million.
AIG Women’s Open purse has tripled in 8 years
The new AIG Women’s Open purse of $10 million is only a modest increase of $250,000 from last year’s $9.75 million total payout. But the tournament’s purse has been increasing regularly for years now, as R&A CEO Mark Darbon noted in the press release announcing the latest increase.
“This is the sixth consecutive year that the AIG Women’s Open prize fund has been increased,” said Mark Darbon. “These consistent and sustainable investments in the prize fund clearly demonstrate The R&A and AIG’s commitment to elevating the Championship on the global stage.”
When we look back to recent history, we can see just how dramatic the prize money increases have been for the LPGA.
The last time the Women’s Open was held at this year’s host course, Royal Lytham & St Annes, was in 2018. The total purse that year was just $3.25 million. That means that in just eight years the AIG Women’s Open purse has tripled in size.
Whoever wins this year’s event will take home a record winner’s share of $1.5 million.
How AIG Women’s Open purse compares to other majors
Last week, the LPGA played its first major of the season at the Chevron Championship. And they played for a lot more money than in 2025. The total 2026 Chevron Championship purse was $9 million, up $1 million from the year prior thanks to an infusion from sponsor JM Eagle.
Nelly Korda took home $1.375 million for her Chevron victory.
Just one week before at the 2026 JM Eagle LA Championship, the JM Eagle CEO announced a $1 million purse increase for that event live on TV mid-tournament.
The new $10 million purse at the AIG Women’s Open still surpasses the increased Chevron purse by $1 million. But two other majors offer even bigger purses than the Women’s Open.
Both the U.S. Women’s Open and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship sported $12 million purses last season. But the winner’s shares at those two events were different. At the Women’s PGA, winner Minjee Lee took home $1.8 million. At the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open, Maja Stark earned a whopping $2.4 million for her victory.
But all of the LPGA major winner’s payouts pale in comparison to the CME Group Tour Championship. The LPGA’s season-ending event features a $4 million winner’s share.
How do the LPGA major purses compare to men’s majors? The biggest purse at a men’s majors in 2025 was $21.5 million at the U.S. Open. The smallest men’s major purse was $17 million at the Open Championship.
