LPGA vs PGA: "The Gap Remains Wide"

There is a sport that female professional athletes envy the most: tennis.

There is no gender discrimination in tennis. In the four major tournaments, the prize money is equal for men and women. Men play best-of-five sets, while women play best-of-three. This makes it more difficult for men to win, yet the prize money for singles champions is the same. Of course, there was discrimination in 1968: the Wimbledon men’s champion received 2,000 pounds, while the women’s champion received 750 pounds. In 1973, the US Open began awarding equal prize money to both men’s and women’s champions. The Australian Open followed in 2001, the French Open in 2006, and Wimbledon in 2007, all changing their regulations accordingly.

Women’s golf has established its own scale. The LPGA Tour, which features top players battling it out, will hold a total of 33 tournaments this year. Events will take place in 13 countries, including the United States, across Asia, and Europe. The total prize pool has been increased to 132 million dollars (approximately 195.2 billion won). The LPGA Tour announced this is the highest amount in its history.

The prize money for major tournaments is overwhelming: 8 million dollars for the Chevron Championship, 12 million dollars for the U.S. Women’s Open, 12 million dollars for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, 8 million dollars for the Amundi Evian Championship, and 9.75 million dollars for the AIG Women’s Open. The final event, the CME Group Tour Championship, offers 11 million dollars in prize money. Excluding the majors, the total prize money for regular tournaments alone is 82 million dollars.

Craig Kessler, Commissioner of the LPGA, said, "We are extremely proud of the growth the LPGA Tour has achieved so far, and we are very optimistic about its future potential." As Commissioner Kessler said, the LPGA Tour has certainly grown. It has taken a step forward both in quantity and quality, but there is still a long way to go compared to the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour, where the world’s top players compete, is also thriving this year. Since the launch of LIV Golf in 2022, backed by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, the Tour has continued to scale up. Prize money and player welfare have significantly improved, and this year, there are eight signature events, each with a prize pool of 20 million dollars. This PGA Tour season will feature a record-high 45 tournaments. The total prize fund has surpassed 500 million dollars (approximately 739.5 billion won).

Although integration negotiations with LIV Golf have proven difficult, the return of players who had left has given the Tour renewed momentum. Major champion Brooks Koepka and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, both from the United States, have ended their contracts with LIV Golf and returned to the PGA Tour.

The gap between the LPGA Tour and the PGA Tour is clearly evident when comparing the top prize money earners: the difference is about threefold.

The strongest female golfer is Jino Titikun from Thailand, currently ranked number one in the world with eight career victories on the LPGA Tour. Last year, Titikun played in 20 tournaments, winning three times. She demonstrated remarkable consistency by finishing in the top 10 fourteen times. She earned a total of 7,578,330 dollars (approximately 1.12 billion won) in prize money. The second-highest earner was Minjee Lee from Australia, who earned 3,910,471 dollars, which is 3,667,859 dollars less than Titikun. Since her debut in 2022, Titikun has earned a total of 17,726,559 dollars (approximately 2.62 billion won).

The PGA Tour is dominated by Scottie Scheffler of the United States. He has recorded 20 career victories, including four major titles. He has no equal, collecting trophies with ease. Scheffler is a player with no weaknesses, excelling in both long and short games. He achieved seven wins in 2024 and six wins last year.

Scheffler started last season late due to a finger injury, but still finished in the top 10 twelve times out of 20 tournaments. He made the cut in every event, with his worst finish being a tie for 25th at the WM Phoenix Open in February last year. Scheffler earned 27,659,550 dollars (approximately 4.09 billion won) in prize money last year, topping the list in this category. His career earnings have soared to 102,841,316 dollars (approximately 18.99 billion won).

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.