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Why the LPGA’s purse sizes have skyrocketed across the majors

Amateur Caley McGinty of England plays her second shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the AIG Women’s Open. (Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

“Ring the Bell!”

The phrase can be heard often at the LPGA Tour’s headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla. these days. When the words pierce the air, a staffer will ring Hall of Famer Pat Bradley’s mom’s bell, just as she did whenever the six-time major champion did something well. The tour recently received the bell from the World Golf Hall of Fame, and now it resides in the lobby of the LPGA’s offices.

With purse sizes increasing significantly this season across the LPGA’s marquee events, the tour has had plenty of wins to celebrate.

“I’ve had some situations where I’ve gone into a meeting thinking we were just talking about the event,” says LPGA Tour commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, “and the CEO or the lead executive from the sponsor just says, ‘Listen, I’ve got great news. We’d like to increase the purse by 25 percent or to increase the purse by X amount.’”

Between all of the LPGA’s five majors and the tour championship, the total money available to players in 2022 is $2.78 million more on average than last season, marking a 59.4 percent year-over-year increase. The AIG Women’s Open, which began Thursday at Muirfield in Scotland, was the latest major to implement a purse increase. After guaranteeing “at least $6.8 million” last August, the Open bumped it even further this week to $7.3 million.

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“To see and have these partners like KPMG this week,” Lydia Ko said at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, “or ProMedica at the U.S. Women’s Open, or AIG did a big jump as well and the many other partners — not just our majors — for them to believe and see what we see and believe in women’s golf and go for that woman’s empowerment is very special.”

The length of the LPGA’s discussions with existing sponsors on increasing purse sizes has ranged from a few years to mere minutes. The reasons the companies have provided for boosting the prize money, however, are generally consistent.

“It is an opportunity for them to express their own company values and an opportunity for them to support something that they believe in,” Marcoux Samaan tells Just Women’s Sports. “It’s really exciting because it’s often not a great negotiation. It’s like, ‘Hey, we’re all in this together to support the players and to support the organization.’”

These companies are especially interested in getting in on the ground floor as women’s sports grow across the board, Marcoux Samaan explained. Interested sponsors are seeing the data that shows that women’s sports fans are more passionate than men’s sports fans.

Their investments also go beyond the dollar amounts. Some have focused on getting their sponsored event on national television. Dow Chemical Company, the title sponsor of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, pays for the final round to air on CBS. Other ancillary offerings include travel stipends, courtesy cars and “the best food that you could ever imagine,” according to Marcoux Samaan:

“Every conversation is, ‘How do we continue to support the women on the tour and reach this partner and the sponsor’s goals?'”

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Mollie Marcoux Samaan presents Lydia Ko with the Vare Trophy after the CME Group Tour Championship last November. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The staggering monetary growth hasn’t reached the LPGA’s non-major events to the same extent. The purses of the regular-field tournaments have increased by 4.5 percent, from $1,827,778 in 2021 to $1,910,000 this season. The AmazingCre Portland Classic, the LPGA’s longest-running non-major tournament entering its 51st year, announced in May a $100,000 purse increase from $1.4 million to $1.5 million, on the same day AmazingCre was revealed as the tournament’s title sponsor.

While the muted growth of the tour’s regular season tournaments might not impact the stars at the top of the world rankings, those golfers in the middle-to-lower tiers face more of an uphill battle. If they don’t qualify for the majors, they can’t reap the benefits of the massive purses.

Marcoux Samaan said the LPGA typically targets a $2 million purse as a baseline for new events. That means a golfer would have to play in five regular-field tournaments to match the total purse at the U.S. Women’s Open this year.

“We value all of our partners, and we want them to move at the pace that they’re comfortable moving. We obviously would want all of them to be able to grow as the value grows, as they see the continued value of their partnership with us,” Marcoux Samaan says. “I think we’re having those conversations with all of our partners, but we’re also very much grateful for those that have supported us for a long time.”

While the LPGA continues to chip away at the purse sizes in all of its tournaments, the tour’s total prize money grew 36.9 percent from last year to 2022. Marcoux Samaan expects many more bell-ringing moments as the LPGA continues to build on the momentum.

“I think it’s really exciting that people are starting to really see the world-class talent of our athletes, and they’re investing in that, because it is a chicken and egg,” she says. “The more they invest and the more viewership, the more value people will place on the tour and on our athletes, which is really what our goal is.”

Kent Paisley is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering golf and the LPGA. He also contributes to Golf Digest. Follow him on Twitter @KentPaisley.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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