Nelly Korda is a golfing phenomenon – and her career prize money is starting to reflect that.
After recording yet more glory at the Riviera US Women’s Open this last week, one wouldn’t bet against the world number one completing the calendar Grand Slam.
She claimed $2.5m for winning this year’s Open, where the total jackpot available was $12.5m.
And while taxes will likely shave up to $1m off her ultimate take-home, the 27-year-old is getting wildly rich from golf alone, even before her endorsement deals with the likes of Nike, Goldman Sachs and BMW.
Korda, who has finished outside the top two only once in 2026, has benefited from the LPGA’s ever-swelling prize purse.
Currently at number three in the all-time LPGA prize money leaderboard with $21.5m, Korda will claim top spot if she triumphs at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, overtaking Lydia Ko ($21.8m) and Annika Sorenstam ($22.6m).
Korda won the event back in 2021, when it was staged at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia. This time, the KPMG Championship will be played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.
As well as her individual prowess, Korda’s chance to claim top spot in the all-time rankings speaks volumes about the LPGA’s booming prize monies and, in turn, its wider commercial success.
In 2017, when Korda first joined the LPGA, the total purse across 34 events was $67.35m. Fast forward to 2026 and, across 33 events, $162m has been ringfenced for prize money.
That’s a jump of almost $65m, thanks to big title sponsors, media deals, growing global interest and compounding growth, as well as prize money parity campaigns.
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