It’s a good week to play well on the LPGA Tour, as there is a record first-place prize money payout being offered at the CME Group Tour Championship. While the $7 million overall purse at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla., doesn’t top the all-time record $10 million offered at the U.S. Women’s Open this summer, it’s in line with the paydays at the remaining LPGA majors. Meanwhile, the $2 million payday for the winner at the CME does surpass the $1.8 million handed out to Minjee Lee at Pine Needles.
Indeed, a high finish this week in the LPGA’s season finale gets rewarded more greatly than at other LPGA Tour event—and even most PGA Tour stops. The $2 million payday at the CME Group Tour Championship is 28.57 percent of the overall purse. That’s a far greater percentage compared to typical LPGA Tour events, which pay out 15 percent of the overall purse to the winner. The U.S. Women’s Open paid 18 percent, which is also the standard percentage for PGA Tour events.