PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — When Nelly Korda’s final putt at the 18th hole circled the lip and fell, she did not merely win a championship. She claimed the largest winner’s cheque ever written in women’s major golf.
Korda collected $2.5 million from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open’s record $12.5 million total purse — the biggest payout in the history of the event and of any women’s major championship. The figure represents a $100,000 increase over the 2024 and 2025 winner’s share, and more than double what the champion received just five years ago.
Runner-up finishers Charley Hull of England and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez each took home $1 million, while every professional who missed the cut received a $10,000 stipend — a provision that reflects the USGA’s sustained commitment to broadening the financial base of women’s professional golf.
“Just a dream to win here,” Korda said after receiving the Harton S. Semple Trophy on Sunday. “The golf course holds so much history, and to have my name alongside so many great champions is a dream come true.”
A Purse Built Over Decades
The financial arc of the U.S. Women’s Open tells a story of accelerating recognition for the women’s game. The inaugural winner, Betty Jameson, received $1,200 from a $7,500 purse in 1947. By 2000, Karrie Webb’s champion’s share had risen to $500,000 from a $2.75 million total. The $1 million winner’s threshold was crossed in 2019, and the purse has expanded sharply every year since.
The 2026 total of $12.5 million — a $500,000 increase over the 2025 edition — represents the championship’s highest purse ever, surpassing all other women’s majors. For context, the Chevron Championship, which Korda also won earlier this season, carried a $9 million purse with a $1.35 million winner’s prize. The U.S. Women’s Open remains the sport’s pre-eminent financial benchmark.
Sixty-three professionals — joined by five amateurs who compete for the trophy but not the prize money — made the weekend cut at Riviera. Among the notable amateur performances, 17-year-old Asterisk Talley finished inside the top 10 without collecting prize money, a reminder of the amateur code that still governs the sport’s most distinguished stage.
What the Win Means Financially
Korda’s $2.5 million cheque is her second major payday of the 2026 season, following the $1.35 million she collected at the Chevron Championship in the spring. Combined, her two major victories this year have generated $3.85 million in prize money alone — a figure that does not account for endorsement premiums typically triggered by major wins.
She is now the first player since Inbee Park in 2013 to win the opening two majors of an LPGA season, a distinction that carries both historical weight and commercial consequence. Korda, 27, has won four times in 2026 from eight starts — with four wins, three runner-up finishes, and a tie for eighth as her only finish outside the top two.
The broader growth of women’s major prize money reflects a concerted push across the LPGA and its governing bodies. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship distributed $12 million in 2025, up from $4.5 million in 2021. The AIG Women’s Open reached $9.75 million last year. Each of the five women’s majors has more than doubled its total purse within five years — a structural shift that Korda, as the world’s dominant player, is uniquely positioned to capitalize on.
For now, the record belongs to Riviera — and to the player whose final putt barely stayed in the cup to claim it.
