This year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is the fifth major championship held at the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., and the first for women.

In addition, the LPGA plays the course for the first time since its year-and-a-half renovation in June 2021.

Here are some of the storylines to follow from this year’s tournament, which begins Thursday.

The major purse surge continues

The 2022 season will go down as one of historic purse raises on the LPGA Tour.

From the U.S. Women’s Open breaking tradition with the first presenting sponsor to bring the purse from $5.5 million to $10 million, only two weeks later the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship doubled from $4.5 million to $9 million.

“When this partnership came about and we had the first KPMG Women’s Championship in 2014, we really made a commitment,” PGA of America President Jim Richerson said. “We really wanted to make sure we utilized this event to showcase the best women’s players in the game and do that with one of the biggest purses.”

All five LPGA majors have had purses increase by over $1 million in 2022. The Chevron Championship went from $3.1 million to $5 million, the Amundi Evian Championship went from $4.5 million to $6.5 million and the AIG Women’s Open went from $5.6 million to $6.8 million. The total is an incredible $13.9 million increase in major purse size, just shy of the total purse of the LPGA’s 1990 season, which surpassed $14.8 million.

With a first-place check of $1.35 million, once the announcement reached players’ email inboxes, they quickly got moving to practice.

“Someone else said that the news hit while the players were in dining,” LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said, “and all of a sudden they all scurried out to the range. That was the joke in dining.”

.@KPMGInspire announces the purse will DOUBLE from $4.5 to $9 million effective this week. LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan joked that players learned via email during lunch and after hearing the news the players all headed to the range to begin practicing. pic.twitter.com/vqEYgWKhgw

— Amy Rogers (@TheAmyRogers) June 21, 2022

It’ll be the fourth check exceeding a million dollars handed out this year, with Minjee Lee and Mina Harigae winning $1.8 million and $1.05 million, respectively, at the U.S. Women’s Open and $2 million to the CME Group Tour Championship victor, the first multi-million dollar prize in LPGA history.

U.S. Solheim Cup 2021 roster performing well at majors

American Solheim Cup Captain Stacy Lewis had 20 players out for dinner in Bethesda to chat about the team and keep them in the loop about plans for the 2023 match-play event in Spain. While Lewis didn’t point out any specific name, she gave props to potential rookies Lilia Vu, who finished third at the LPGA’s Bank of Hope Match Play in late May, and Andrea Lee, who posted two top-five finishes in her last five starts.

Lewis went on to acknowledge team veterans Nelly Korda, who lost in a playoff last week in her second start since returning after four months away due to a blood clot complication, and Lexi Thompson, who has four top-five finishes in eight starts this season.

“I think American golf is in a good spot,” Lewis said, “It’s just different faces than everybody is used to, and that’s just the natural progression of it. There’s always going to be changes. There’s always going to be changing kind of rolling over of players. This new guard coming up is really good. Got some new names for people to learn.”

LIVE from Congressional: Stacy Lewis Press Conference https://t.co/iJM7yeGM03

— KPMG Women's PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 21, 2022

Three Americans have won or finished runner-up at the year’s first two majors. First, Jennifer Kupcho won the Chevron Championship, with Jessica Korda finishing in second. Then Mina Harigae followed up with a runner-up finish at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Kupcho became one of two multiple-time winners in 2022, along with Minjee Lee, after defeating Korda and Leona Maguire in a playoff last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic.

“I think for sure we’re definitely trending that direction more so than even when I first came out here,” Kupcho said, “I think there’s a lot of great American players right now.”

Minjee Lee takes aim at third major

Last year, Nelly Korda was No. 3 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings before winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. This year, Lee — arguably the top-performing golfer on the LPGA this year with two wins, including the U.S. Women’s Open, and eight top-25 finishes in nine starts — sits in the No. 3 spot in the world rankings.

Fueling the Australian’s campaign is the working out she did in the offseason, mainly throwing a medicine ball around to average 270 off the tee. It’s eight yards further than 2021, helping her to lead the tour in birdieing 26.7% of her holes, a 2.5% lead over Atthaya Thitikul and a 5% leap from last season.

It led the eight-time winner to the 72-hole scoring record in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles (271), and she’s leading the LPGA in major scoring with a combined score of 38-under par, leading Nelly Korda by four strokes.

Swing of a 2x major champion 💪@minjeegolf | @KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/kwMVzjFqgV

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 22, 2022

If her current form holds, Lee may end up in the winner’s circle for her third major title in her last five major starts, becoming the first multi-major winner in a season since Jin Young Ko in 2019.

“I like to embrace the challenge [of majors],” Lee said, “and I think the harder the golf courses get, I think the better I play. You do have to focus a little bit more on smaller details, so I think that’s where I kind of excel. When I play under pressure, that is where I excel as well. I think it just really sets up well.”

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.

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

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Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

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Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.