Total prize money in women’s golf has largely doubled every decade since the LPGA was first founded in 1950 (with the exception of a minuscule increase from 2000-2010) and hit an all-time high this year of $76.45 million. As we head into the final tournament of the year at this weekend’s CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, FL, the largest single purse in the history of women’s golf is on the line with $1.5M designated for the tournament winner. It’s an amount that would nearly double the year-to-date prize money of the year’s top two golfers, Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko. 

The LPGA has been a tale of two flames in 2021 with Korda and Ko trading off dominant stints atop the rankings. For the first seven months of the season, it was all Korda. Between January and July, the 23-year-old from Bradenton, Florida won three LPGA tournaments, including her first major at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and finished in the top ten in eight of the eleven tournaments she entered. 

To cap off her barnstorming summer, she won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo by a thrilling one stroke margin earned on the final round’s 18th hole over Japan’s Mone Inami. Sharing that moment with her older sister and pro golfer, Jessica Korda, was extra special for the sisters who hail from Czech professional tennis player parents who are still highly involved in all their kids’ sporting careers (Korda’s younger brother competes on the ATP Tour).         

After cementing her name on the list of top women’s golfer to watch for years to come, things cooled off a bit for Korda. After winning the major, her best finish in the next four tournaments was a tie for 13th at the AIG Women’s Open. She also took some well-earned time off the course as well, opting to play in only two of the past six events.

In the meantime, the spark passed to Jin Young Ko, who caught fire at the end of summer, winning three of five tournaments in September and October. The 26-year-old from Seoul, South Korea has rarely been far from the spotlight since joining the tour in 2018. Out of the gate, she became only the second player in history to win her inaugural LPGA tournament and capped off the year with Rookie of Year honors. In just her second year on tour she won two majors, topped the list for official prize money earned, won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average (69.06), and was named the Rolex Player of the Year. Not a bad sophomore season.

After an abbreviated 2020, Ko maintained her number one world ranking and now finds herself neck and neck with Korda for that coveted title to close out 2021.

Momentum was behind Ko heading into the Pelican Women’s Championship last weekend with a 15-point lead ahead of Korda in Player of the Year standings. (Points are awarded to the top 10 finishers of each tournament, with 30 pts for 1st place, 12 pts for 2nd, 9 pts for 3rd, and so on.) But Korda proved she’s not done with 2021 yet by winning a thrilling four-way play-off to clinch her fourth victory of the year and put her 10 points ahead of Ko, who finished T6.

Now Korda is once again sitting at number one in several categories: Player of the Year points, official money earned, percentage of rounds in the 60’s, and lowest scoring average (68.84). Ko is right on her tail in each of those and with four tournament victories apiece (the Olympic gold doesn’t count toward LPGA stats), the Player of the Year title is still very much in contention as the two prepare to tee off in Naples for the final four rounds of 2021. One possible advantage Ko might have heading into this weekend is the fact she won this tournament and the then $1.1M prize one year ago by a five-stroke margin.

While the LPGA’s MVP title is now a two-woman race, a historic $1.5M is up for grabs for this weekend’s entire field of 60 golfers, who have earned entry by the accumulation of “Race to CME Globe” points in LPGA events throughout the year.

Keep your eye on Rookie of the Year lock Patty Tavatanakit. The 22-year-old Thai golfer clinched her first tour victory in her very first major at the ANA Inspiration back in April and sits third in Player of the Year points due to an impressive nine top-ten finishes this season. New Zealander Lydia Ko is also playing great golf and with one victory and four second place finishes this season is another likely front runner for the cash prize this weekend. And for Lexi Thompson, a season ending victory would do much to salve the sting of her recent struggles to hang onto late tourney leads on the green. Whoever wins the record-breaking first place prize, it will be a momentous step forward for women’s golf.

Round one begins this Thursday on Golf Channel with Sunday’s final round coverage airing on NBC from 1-4pm ET.

The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.

After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.

Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.

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As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.

With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.

Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.

"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"

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How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship

No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.

Retired WNBA icon Sylvia Fowles is returning to the court, with ESPN reporting on Wednesday that the former Minnesota Lynx star center will join the staff of the Portland Fire, becoming an assistant coach for the 2026 expansion team.

After reportedly fielding multiple offers of WNBA coaching opportunities, the 40-year-old will back up recently announced Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama during the team's debut season, with the opportunity to help mold a fresh league roster and create culture from day one serving as a deciding factor in Fowles choosing the expansion franchise.

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The 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee's resume underlines her ability to make an impact from the sideline, as the beloved WNBA alum packs both championship experience and a defensive mindset to aid a team still forming its identity.

In a 14-year playing career split between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota, the 2017 WNBA MVP won two league titles, earning Finals MVP honors alongside each of those Lynx championships.

A four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Fowles exited her pro career as the league's all-time rebounds leader with 4,007 boards — a stat that held until current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles passed the Hall of Famer in September 2024.

The eight-time All-Star also shined on the international stage, as Fowles snagged four Olympic gold medals during her time with Team USA.

With the 18-team UWCL league phase now done and dusted, the 12 clubs still standing discovered their paths to the Final in the 2025/26 Champions League knockouts draw on Thursday.

While the top four clubs — No. 1 Barcelona, No. 2 OL Lyonnes, No. 3 Chelsea FC, and No. 4 Bayern Munich — punched their way into March's quarterfinals behind elite league-phase performances, the remaining eight teams must battle in February's playoffs in order to advance.

Thursday's draw has reigning champs No. 5 Arsenal facing Belgian side No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the playoffs, but the Gunners then face a difficult road in the UWCL knockouts, staring down a potential quarterfinal clash with WSL rivals Chelsea as eight-time UWCL winners OL Lyonnes looms on the same side of the semifinal bracket.

Elsewhere, No. 7 Real Madrid have an opportunity to make UWCL history should they win their playoff tie against No. 10 Paris FC, setting up the tournament's first-ever El Clásico with a possible quarterfinal match against perennial winners Barcelona.

How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League Playoffs

The first-leg of the 2025/26 UWCL playoffs kick off with No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven hosting No. 5 Arsenal at 12:45 PM ET on February 11th, with No. 7 Real Madrid visiting No. 10 Paris FC at 3 PM ET.

The following day, No. 8 Juventus will take on hosts No. 9 Wolfsburg at 12:45 PM ET before No. 11
Atlético de Madrid faces the visiting No. 6 Manchester United at 3 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.

The NWSL Players Association is not on board with the league's latest proposal, rejecting the NWSL's new "High Impact Player" rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to retain star athletes.

According to the current CBA, the union — rather than the league — has the final sign-off on all changes regarding compensation.

"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players [benefit from] this pot of funds," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN. "How you measure a player's value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points."

The NWSLPA has instead suggested that the league simply raise the 2026 salary cap by $1 million, giving clubs the same spending discretion without the star player mechanism.

Citing concerns about the rule's potential long-term implications on the market, roster structures, and locker-room culture, Burke noted that "We just don't feel that it delivers anything of value that simply increasing the team salary cap wouldn't, without having negative consequences."

"Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals," Burke continued. "It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that's how it works. It's a free market."

"We are actively reviewing feedback from the NWSLPA as part of the consultation process outlined in the CBA," an NWSL spokesperson said in response.

"The league remains committed to being the home of the world's best talent, and this path gives our clubs the opportunity to pursue that goal while raising overall player investment."