The KPMG Women's PGA Championship prize money has increased at an extraordinary rate over the past few years, with over $10 million on offer in 2024 compared to $4.5 million in 2021.
For many years before that, there was much more of a gradual increase in the total prize pot, having only reached seven figures for the first time in 1990. While the payout figure has generally climbed over the years, it did also briefly fall in 2013 before a 50% jump to $3.5 million in 2015.
Now at a record $10.4 million - $400,000 more than last year - it is not only the winning player who benefits from historic levels but also their caddie, too.
It is widely believed that an LPGA Tour player's caddie will earn a bonus of anywhere between 5% and 10% per week, depending on how high up the golfer finishes, while some partnerships also have a flat-rate written into their contracts. In the case of the winner, it is not unreasonable to say that the looper will take 10% of their check.
In 2023, Ruoning Yin claimed $1.5 million following her one-stroke victory over 2024 US Women's Open champion, Yuka Saso. She did so with Jon Lehman as her caddie - a veteran bagman she had only known a matter of weeks - and he likely picked up a $150,000 bonus on top of having his expenses covered throughout the tournament.
The purse is going 🆙!There's now $10,400,000 up for grabs at the @KPMGWomensPGA 🏆That brings the full season total on the LPGA Tour to more than $125 million, a more than 75% increase since 2021! 📈 pic.twitter.com/ybeVxgx2VzJune 18, 2024
Meanwhile, the 2024 edition is offering the biggest prize purse in the specific Major's history at $10.4 million - consequently slotting in as the third highest total this season behind the US Women's Open ($12m) and the CME Group Tour Championship ($11m).
The eventual KPMG Women's PGA Championship winner will take home $1.56 million, leaving the victorious caddie to earn in the region of $156,000.
It will not only be the winning on-course assistant who receives life-changing money, however, with the percentage for loopers elsewhere ranging around the 5-7% mark - depending on the respective pair's agreement. Even those caddying for players who just miss out on lifting the trophy could earn a high five or low six-figure sum.
LPGA Tour commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan confirmed that the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is now the sixth LPGA Tour event ever to feature a winner’s share of more than $1 million and takes the total prize money offered on the US-based circuit to $125 million for 2024.
Since the LPGA and KPMG first partnered in 2015, the total prize purse at this Major has increased by an astounding 360%. Speaking to LPGA Tour media staff ahead of the announcement on the record-breaking purse being made, Marcoux Samaan paid tribute to the tournament's title sponsor for greatly aiding the profile of the women's game as much as it has in the past 10 years.
She said: “I don't think you can talk about the growth of the LPGA over the last decade without saying the words 'KPMG.' I think bringing the PGA of America, KPMG, and LPGA together, we've created something that has been a catalyst.
"Going from $2.25 million to $10.4 million this year, 360% growth, it's not just about the money. It's that the world is showing the value they place and that KPMG and the PGA of America places on the talent that we have out here.
"These are the best women in the world, and they should be paid commensurate with that talent. What we've done has truly instigated and been a catalyst to others moving there.”
