Prize purses on the LPGA Tour are growing, creating more opportunities for players to earn a solid paycheck. While the average tour pro may still struggle to break even each week, and there’s progress to be made toward greater parity in the game, the biggest events now offer significant earning potential.
In 2026, LPGA golfers will compete for more than $132 million, the highest prize fund in LPGA Tour history. Non-Major purses total over $82 million for the 2026 season. So far, 12 tournaments have announced elevated purses and more than 15 events are expected to have a minimum payout to all players competing in the field.
The season-ending CME Group Tour Championship won by Jeeno Thitikul remains the leader in non-Major prize money with an $11 million purse. In 2025 Thitikul successfully defended her title to become the first player to take home the record-breaking $4 million winner’s check in back-to-back years. It’s the largest single prize in women’s golf history and one of the highest in women’s sports.
Back in 2006, when Annika Sorenstam won her third US Women’s Open title, her winner’s share from a $3.1 million prize purse was $560,000, and with that win Sorenstam went over $20 million in career earnings. Despite retiring in 2008, she is still the highest earner on the LPGA Tour, having amassed $22,583,693 in prize money from 308 events during her illustrious career.
Among the youngest career earners topping the list are 28-year-old Lydia Ko, now ranked 2nd with $21,316,768, and 29-year-old Minjee Lee, who jumps from 9th to 5th spot with $18,662,560.
As expected, 22-year-old World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul made the most significant climb up the leaderboard. Her total earnings jumped from $9,791,070 in 2024 to $17,369,400 in 2025, catapulting her from 27th to 7th on the LPGA’s all-time list.
What is particularly striking is how this illustrates the massive recent increase in prize money. Thitikul has amassed these earnings in just four years as an LPGA player, despite having only 84 career starts. She has reached the top 10 significantly faster than the legends she now sits alongside, with nearly half of her total wealth coming from her back-to-back $4 million wins at the CME Group Tour Championship.
One name that continues to stand out is Lorena Ochoa, who sits 12th with $14,863,331 in career earnings from just 175 events, a testament to her dominance between 2007 and 2010.
Highest Career Earnings On The LPGA Tour
Rank |
Player |
Career Earnings |
Career Events Played |
1 |
Annika Sorenstam |
$22,583,693 |
308 |
2 |
Lydia Ko |
$21,316,768 |
261 |
3 |
Karrie Webb |
$20,293,617 |
497 |
4 |
Cristie Kerr |
$20,179,848 |
609 |
5 |
Minjee Lee |
$18,656,560 |
251 |
6 |
Inbee Park |
$18,262,344 |
306 |
7 |
Jeeno Thitikul |
$17,369,400 |
84 |
8 |
Amy Yang |
$16,117,591 |
371 |
9 |
Nelly Korda |
$16,109,558 |
162 |
10 |
Lexi Thompson |
$15,498,227 |
271 |
11 |
Sei Young Kim |
$15,492,568 |
246 |
12 |
Lorena Ochoa |
$14,863,331 |
175 |
13 |
Suzann Petterson |
$14,837,578 |
316 |
14 |
Jin Young Ko |
$14,742,062 |
142 |
15 |
Stacy Lewis |
$14,676,866 |
375 |
LPGA statistics includes verified data from 1980 to present
