No incentive is required to put on a show at a Major Championship, especially one being played at Pebble Beach for the very first time, but the best female golfers on the planet now know they’ll also be competing for the largest prize money payout in women’s golf at this week’s US Women’s Open.
The announcement had been expected, and it can now be confirmed that the 2023 Women’s US Open will be double the size of the purse of the 2021 Championship. At $11m, it’s been raised by $1 from 2022, and has been described by USGA CEO Mike Whan as a “breakthrough moment”.
“Talking about 12 hours of network TV and playing for $11 million, some things are better than what you dream of,” said the USGA chief. “When you go back 10 or 15 years ago, those are pretty big moments, and I hope that all of us aren't both so callused and in a hurry and iPhone-driven that we've missed that kind of breakthrough moment.”
The winner of the 78th US Women’s Open will take home $2m, which is $200,000 more than Minjee Lee claimed a year ago at Pine Needles.
Last month, China's Ruoning Yin banked $1.5m for winning the 2023 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, with the field competing for a total purse of $10m. And in April, Lilia Vu took a $765,000 share of the $5.1m up for grabs at the 2023 Chevron Championship.
There is still some way to go before the men and women play for the same prize money, something the US Open in tennis achieved in 1973 – but that gap is closing.
In June, Wyndham Clark banked $3.6m for his US Open victory, with the field playing for a total purse of $20m, the first time a Major Championship has passed that landmark sum. Consequently, the top 38 players secured six and seven-figure sums, with McIlroy getting over $2m for finishing second.
However, the USGA is still focused on reaching equal prize money. “Equality takes on a lot of different meanings to us, not just the purse,” USGA president Fred Perpall said.
“But I think if we keep working on that process, eventually we get more eyeballs. We get more interest. We have the economics rise. And then it's easier for the purse to rise, too.
“Some of this is part of the process, and some of it is part of the journey and not only the destination. I think we're focused much more on the process to get to that level of equality.”
