The 2023 KMPG Women’s PGA Championship is here, teeing off Thursday and running through Sunday with $9 million in purse money up for grabs.

The tournament, which is being played at the Baltusrol Lower Course in Springfield, New Jersey, features the second-highest purse of the year, with only the U.S. Women’s Open offering more at $10 million.

Women’s PGA Championship:
Schedule and how to watch

Thurs., June 22:

• 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. — Golf Channel and Peacock
• 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. — Peacock

Friday, June 23:

• 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. — Golf Channel and Peacock
• 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. — Peacock

Saturday, June 24:

• 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. — Peacock
• 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. — NBC

Sunday, June 25:

• 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. — Peacock
• 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. — NBC

Players to watch

Rose Zhang

All eyes are on newly-minted pro Rose Zhang, who announced following the 2023 NCAA season that she would be leaving Stanford for the LPGA. She won her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open in early June, beating Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff. Now she’ll make her major debut as a professional.

“This year, we’ve had a lot of really good golfers,” LPGA star and world No. 2 Nelly Korda said during a pre-tournament news conference. “Rose is one-for-one, so she’s pretty good.

“… It’s amazing to see that she won her first week out as a professional. I think it’s going to be really good for women’s golf. Hopefully, we have some great battles coming down the stretch over the years.”

The No. 1-ranked amateur in the world for 141 weeks (the most of any player ever), Zhang has had a big year, winning her second individual NCAA title and the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur title. And the Women’s PGA Championship is the only major in which she has yet to compete, making it fitting that this will be her first major as a professional. But even as an amateur, she’s never finished below 60th at a major. Her career-high finish in a major came at the 2020 Chevron Championship, in which she tied for 11th place.

Nelly Korda

The No. 2 ranked player in the world, Korda has found her way back after missing significant time last season with an injury and beginning this season with a lower back injury. But that’s not a problem this week.

“I honestly wouldn’t be playing if I wasn’t 100%,” Korda said Tuesday.

She’s consistently been among the world’s best in recent years, but has won just one major: the 2021 PGA Championship. She finished last season on a high, tying for eighth at the Evian Championship, her highest-ever finish at that major. And the time away, she said, has left her “a little bit more hungry.”

Ashleigh Buhai

Buhai enters the major as one of the best players of late. She won the ShopRite tournament, placed third at the Founders Cup and tied for seventh at the Mizuho Americas Open. At last week’s Meijer Classic, she finished tied for 13th, but she has been successful in New Jersey. While she’s not been as successful at the PGA Championship, look for Buhai to capitalize on recent success.

Leona Maguire

Maguire is fresh off a win at the Meijer Classic and has put together three top-10 finishes to begin the 2023 season. If she were to win, she’d become Ireland’s first female major champion, joining the likes of Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington.

“Obviously to get my second win is obviously very nice, and I’ll try and give myself as best a chance as possible in the remaining majors this year,” she said. “I didn’t put any pressure on myself this week, so not going to do that for the rest of the season and just enjoy my golf as much as I can.”

Angel City officially cut the ribbon on their new training facility on Tuesday, showing off their expanded performance center as NWSL preseason gets underway.

The nine-acre Thousand Oaks site boasts 1.5 full-sized pitches and 50,000 square feet of indoor space, making it the league's largest NWSL-specific practice ground.

The center also houses a 5,400-square-foot gym, multiple locker rooms, medical offices, an outdoor lounge, an onsite content studio, a children's playroom, and rehab, hydrotherapy, and nutrition areas.

Having practiced at Cal Lutheran University since the expansion franchise's 2022 debut, ACFC later relocated across campus to the former home of the NFL's LA Rams. They then transformed the site into their record-setting performance center after completing a multi-million dollar remodel.

"Today we get to celebrate an extraordinary milestone for Angel City. Our new performance center reflects our commitment to the future of ACFC to its sustained excellence, and to providing our players with the best possible environment to train, to recover, and to thrive," said ACFC controlling owner Willow Bay in a statement. "My husband Bob Iger and I know how important it is, and how essential it is to ensure that our players have everything they need to be successful both on and off the pitch. This state-of-the-art performance center, let's be clear — it sets the bar, but it really should be the norm."

An unmatched tool for the new NWSL recruitment era

Offering a record-setting performance center to Angel City players could have the unexpected benefit of attracting and retaining future talent for LA.

With the abolishment of NWSL college and expansion drafts and the requirement to gain player permission for all trades taking effect under the league's new CBA, clubs now face a new era of athlete recruitment.

Rather than benefitting from the previous and arguably more passive system, NWSL franchises must now take a decidedly more active approach to roster-building by wooing potential players and impressing those currently on their squads. Adding top-tier facilities is a major way to sweeten the deal, giving Angel City a potential leg up over other clubs.

"This facility, when people have been here and seen this, I don't know how you're going to want to leave," incoming Angel City sporting director Mark Parsons told reporters at yesterday's unveiling event.

"My job has just got much, much more easy with this facility," Parsons continued. "This is unlike nowhere else. I’m excited to be a part of an organization that cares that much. But I’m also excited that my skill set just got a bit easier, because everyone’s going to want to be here."

USWNT star Naomi Girma will reportedly become the first women's soccer player to garner a transfer fee of over $1 million, as the decorated young center back narrows her overseas suitors down to WSL side Chelsea FC.

The 24-year-old defender is currently under contract with the San Diego Wave until 2026, and reported to the NWSL club's first day of preseason training as expected on Tuesday.

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While Girma's contract is still in negotiations, San Diego and the UK titans have agreed upon the deal's $1.1 million terms — by far the highest sum in the history of pro women's football. The previous record is held by Rachael Kundananji, for whom Bay FC shelled out $860,000 to Spain's Madrid CFF to roster the Zambian forward in February 2024.

Chelsea, who currently stands unbeaten in the WSL halfway through the league's 2024/25 season, is keen to bolster their back line after losing star Canadian center back Kadeisha Buchanan to an ACL injury last November.

France's Olympique Lyonnais also threw their hat in the the million-dollar ring for Girma, only to fall out of contention alongside Chelsea rival Arsenal.

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San Diego's Wave of roster turnovers

Assuming the transfer goes through, Girma will be one of several high-profile players exiting the 2023 NWSL Shield-winning San Diego club ahead of the 2025 season. Girma joins the NC Courage-bound attacker Jaedyn Shaw in making a SoCal departure.

In response, the Wave has been actively filling roster spots, signing 17-year-old defender Trinity Armstrong off of her 2024 College Cup-winning freshman season with UNC last week before adding seasoned goalkeeper and free agent Didi Haračić as well as Nigerian midfielder Favour Emmanuel on Monday. 

Inking Armstrong to a three-year deal seems particularly strategic in the wake of Girma's likely departure. It signals that the Wave are again looking to young defensive talent to replace the 2022 NWSL Draft No. 1 pick.

Ultimately, a transfer fee of this magnitude solidifies Girma's reputation as one of the world's top defenders. While still accounting for less than 1% of spending in the men's game, her historic fee is further proof that the global women's market is growing at breakneck speeds.

The NWSL released its full 2025 schedule on Wednesday morning, locking in 190 league contests across all competitions.

The 2025 Challenge Cup will set the stage on Friday, March 7th with a 2024 NWSL Championship rematch between the title-winning Orlando Pride and runners-up Washington Spirit.

One week later, the official 2025 NWSL Kickoff weekend will see all 14 teams in action as the 182-game regular season gets underway. Each club will play a total of 26 regular-season matches, split equally between home and away contests, before the league's eight top teams will battle through seven playoff games in November.

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A mid-summer break begins in late June with a CBA-mandated week-off. The pause extends one month through July to allow for international play. That's when certain national team players will compete for their countries in confederation tournaments while clubs will be free to schedule friendlies. No additional NWSL tournaments will occur during that window.

In one minor adjustment from the league's earlier calendar announcement, the 2025 regular season will be played over 26 weeks (rather than 25) to mitigate the need for midweek games.

The shift also accommodates for the return of Decision Day, which is making a comeback for the first time since 2023. In the popular format, all teams will compete simultaneously to close out the regular season on Sunday, November 2nd.

Moves up season excitement

With playoff positioning often coming down to the wire, capping the regular season with a Decision Day can dramatically up the stakes and increase excitement for the impending playoffs.

In another move to capitalize on fandom enthusiasm, the NWSL has added a dedicated rivalry weekend to its 2025 calendar. From August 8th through 10th, old feuds like the Portland Thorns and Seattle Reign's Cascadia Clash will share the spotlight with newer grudges like Angel City and San Diego's SoCal Classic.

How to watch the 2025 NWSL season

Entering the second year of the league's blockbuster broadcast deal, 160 total games will air across Prime Video, ION, ESPN, and CBS platforms this season, with the remaining 30 matches streaming on NWSL+. International distribution is still in negotiations.

Starting the NWSL's 2025 action is the Challenge Cup between Orlando and Washington, which begins at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 7th, streaming live on Prime Video.

Two concurrent matches will kick off the 2025 regular season at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 14th: Houston will face Washington on NWSL+, while Orlando takes on the newly branded Chicago Stars FC on Prime Video.

South Carolina boss Dawn Staley became the highest-paid coach in women's college basketball history on Friday, when the three-time national champion inked a contract extension worth over $25 million to remain with the Gamecocks.

At an annual salary of $4 million — plus a $500,000 signing bonus and a yearly $250,000 escalator — the deal locks in Staley through the 2029/30 season.

A significant bump from her previous $3.2 million annual payday, the new contract sees Staley leapfrog over UConn legend Geno Auriemma and LSU's Kim Mulkey to top the league in compensation.

Calling her "a once-in-a-generation coach," athletic director Jeremiah Donati noted that Staley "has elevated the sport of women's basketball on the national level and here on campus, and I am excited that she will be representing our University for many years to come."

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Locking in a South Carolina legend

Since taking the helm in 2008, Staley has led South Carolina to 630 wins, 16 SEC titles, and 12 straight NCAA tournament appearances including five Final Fours and three national championships.

After taking South Carolina to an 128-4 record since her previous contract extension in 2021, this new agreement all but squashes any rumors about the coach's departure.

Despite a clause releasing Staley from an early departure penalties should she exit for a WNBA or NBA job, the legendary college leader has no intentions to leave Columbia.

"I will never leave here to go take another college job," Staley told reporters after the No. 2 Gamecocks' Sunday win over then-No. 13 Oklahoma. "[And] I don't have a passion for the next level. I don't. I would've been gone."

As the Hall of Famer continues setting the on-court NCAA standard in her 17th season with South Carolina, Staley's record-breaking contract both reflects the sport's overall rising stock and pushes for even more investment in the game.

Pledging to prove the impact of supporting both her and the game itself, Staley committed "to continuing to be an example of how an investment in women’s basketball is one that will pay off for everyone."