The reward for the eight Australians competing at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship just got, well, more rewarding. In the midst of the first round at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, tournament officials announced the prize money payout for this year’s championship was rising to $US10 million ($A15 million), which is $US1 million more than from 2022 and the sixth straight year that the purse had gotten a bump.
The winner on Sunday will earn a payday of $US1.5 million ($A2.2 million).
In those six years, the overall increase has been 185 percent from the $3.5 million purse awarded in 2017. This year, two-time major winner Minjee Lee leads a contingent fo eight Australians that also includes 2019 Women’s PGA champion Hannah Green.
“I think in really studying the history and looking at this event, in 2015 when we partnered with KPMG and the PGA of America sort of everything changed around this championship and I think it became, like Paul said, he kind of described it perfectly, a catalyst for change on the LPGA,” LPGA Tour Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said Tuesday. “If you look at all the things that they do to elevate this tournament, it’s what we’re trying to do. The investment that they make in the women golfers, in the LPGA, has really taken the LPGA to new heights that we never really imagined.”
The bump marks back-to-back events with a $US10 million purse, as the US Women’s Open, starting July 6, will have the same purse. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship raise is the second major to increase its purse in 2023. With the Chevron Championship’s move to Carlton Woods, Texas, its purse went up from $5 million to $5.1 million.
Rising major purses is a notable trend on the LPGA. In 2022, every major grew its purse by at least $1.5 million for a total increase of $14.4 million. The continued increases in purses have led the LPGA to another record year, with the current season at $101.35 million, the first time in tour history the total has exceeded $100 million.
TV coverage (Australia)
All live programming on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo Sports. Highlights on Fox Sports 503. (AEST times)
Friday 2am-5am (live); 11am-noon (highlights); 6pm-7pm (highlights)
Saturday 2am-9am (live); 10am-11am (highlights)
Sunday 1am-8am (live); 10.30am-11.30am (highlights); 6pm-7pm (highlights)
Monday 1am-8am (live); 11am-1pm (highlights)
Australian Player Profiles
Karis Davidson
World ranking: 249
Age: 24
Major wins: 0
LPGA Tour wins: 0
Best finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: First appearance
The lowdown: In her second full year on the LPGA Tour, Davidson has made the cut in four of seven events, including the first major of the year, The Chevron Championship, with a best finish of equal 17th in the matchplay event in late May. Those results have her sitting in 91st place in the Race to the CME Globe standings.
Hannah Green
World ranking: 15
Age: 26
Major wins: 1
LPGA Tour wins: 3
Best finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Champion in 2019
The lowdown: Green returned to the winner’s list on the LPGA Tour for the first time in over three years with a playoff triumph at the JM Eagle LA Championship in April moving her back inside the world top 20. Last year, Green recorded two top-10s in majors and at Baltusrol she’ll be keen to bounce back from a rare missed cut in the opening major of 2023, The Chevron Championship.
Grace Kim
World ranking: 82
Age: 22
Major wins: 0
LPGA Tour wins: 1
Best finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: First appearance
The lowdown: It’s already been a memorable year for the Sydneysider who won her first LPGA title at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April. She followed up three events later with another top 10 at the Founders Cup. The Women’s PGA Championship will be her third start in a major and another chance to show her considerable progress.
Steph Kyriacou
World ranking: 113
Age: 22
Major wins: 0
LPGA Tour wins: 0
Best finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: T10 (2022)
The expectation: A consistent 2023 campaign has seen Kyriacou make the cut in all but one event, highlighted by a top-10 finish at the Mizuho Americas Open which featured a season-best 65 in the third round. Major golf has been good for Kyriacou. Her tie for 10th in last year’s Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional was one of two top-10s in majors in 2022.
Minjee Lee
World ranking: 5
Age: 27
Major wins: 2
LPGA Tour wins: 8
Best finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: T2 (2022)
The lowdown: The Women’s PGA Championship is one of three majors that Minjee has yet to win with her tie for second last year being the first time she’d made the top 10 in the event. Last year’s major season saw the West Australian finish three times in the top five and she’s again favoured to be among the main contenders at Baltusrol. Her best finish so far this year was second to Jin Young Ko in the Founders Cup last month – an indication she is approaching her best form.
Su Oh
World ranking: 236
Age: 27
Major wins: 0
LPGA Tour wins: 0
Best finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: T8 (2016)
The lowdown: Oh has played a mix of LPGA and Epson Tour events so far this year and there were some great signs a fortnight ago when she achieved her best result for 2023 at the Shoprite LPGA Classic where she tied for sixth. A good result here would provide a nice boost to her world ranking which has fallen outside the top 200 in recent weeks.
Gabriela Ruffels
World ranking: 222
Age: 23
Major wins: 0
LPGA Tour wins: 0
Best finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: T31 (2021)
The lowdown: Ruffels will bring her outstanding Epson Tour form, including two victories and three other top-15 finishes this year, to the big stage where she will be seeking her first top 10 at a major. It was at this event two years ago that Ruffels announced she was moving to the pro game after a fine amateur career.
Sarah Kemp
World ranking: 152
Age: 37
Major wins: 0
LPGA Tour wins: 0
Best finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: T37 (2014)
The lowdown: Back-to-back 13th place finishes at the Founders Cup and LA Championship have been the highlight of Kemp’s LPGA season so far in 2023. Earlier in the year, she tied for fifth and was the highest placed woman in the mixed field at the TPS Sydney event at Bonnie Doon. Kemp comes into the PGA in 96th position on the Race to the CME Globe standings.
Round 1 tee times AEST
9pm Thursday Karis Davidson
9.11pm Gabriela Ruffels
10pm* Steph Kyriacou
10.17pm Hannah Green
10.22* Sarah Kemp
10.39 Minjee Lee
2.27am* Su Oh
2.44am Grace Kim
