There was something extra intriguing about Wednesday’s announcement that the CME Group had signed a new two-year deal with the LPGA that lets it continue as the title sponsor of the season-ending Tour Championship. In returning for 2024 and 2025, CME will also be infusing a tournament that already boasted the richest first-place prize money payout in women’s golf with an even greater payday.
Starting next year, the field at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla., will be playing for $11 million overall, with the champion earning $4 million—the biggest winner’s payday in all of women’s sports. (Yes, not just golf, but all sports.) Suffice it to say. if players didn’t already have an incentive to be among the top 60 in the Race to the CME points list and qualify to play in the CME before …
While the plans for the future are truly exciting, don’t forget they’re playing for a whole lot of loot this week, too. With an overall purse of $7 million, and $2 million going to the last woman standing come Sunday, the LPGA’s season finale will be a lucrative four days for the eventual champion.
Public Tiburon Golf Club: Gold Naples, FL 4.3 61 Panelists
- Best In State
Of the public options sprinkled across Naples, Greg Norman’s Tiburón courses at the Ritz-Carlton provide the best balance of quality golf and convenience, situated in the heart of North Naples. That ideal combination comes at a cost, though, as green fees can be upwards of $300. The Gold course—ranked on our Best Courses You Can Play in Florida list—features stacked sod wall bunkers and no conventional rough and is home to the LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship and the PGA Tour’s QBE Shootout. View Course
And if you need a reminder of consider where this tournament was a few years ago. During its first year at the CME Group Titleholders in 2011, the overall purse was $1.5 million with the winner claiming $500,000. And here’s how it has evolved over time:
2013: $2 million/$700,000
2017: $2.5 million/$500,000
2019: $5 million/$1.5 million
2022: $7 million/$2 million
Here’s the prize money payout for every golfer in the field in this no-cut event. Come back shortly after the end of the tournament and we’ll update this with individual names and prize money money.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
