The LPGA Tour has returned to US shores after a three-week spell in Asia, and the Fortinet Founders Cup is the first stop on a short trip around the country's south-west corner.
Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club in Menlo Park, California is the site of this week's event, with the LPGA Tour moving on to Arizona and Nevada before returning to California in mid-April.
But before that, there is the small matter of the LPGA Tour's latest $3 million event to deal with. The Founders Cup offered up a total of $3 million between 2021-2024, dropping to just $2 million last year as Yealimi Noh reigned supreme.
The overall prize money payout is back up to its former number in 2026, with a cool $450,000 finding its way to the winner at the end of the tournament. That is before a number of different factors reduce how much money pro golfers really earn.
Ending the four-round tournament inside the top six will give players the best possible chance of picking up a six-figure payday, while simply making the cut should be good for almost $7,000.
As well as the direct financial rewards, there are 500 Race To CME Globe points on the line for the winner and the chance to lock up playing rights for the coming seasons.
Below is the maximum prize money payout for the 2026 Fortinet Founders Cup based on 65 players making the cut and before ties are taken into account.
FORTINET FOUNDERS CUP PRIZE MONEY BREAKDOWN
Position |
Prize Money |
|---|---|
1st |
$450,000 |
2nd |
$282,976 |
3rd |
$205,279 |
4th |
$158,799 |
5th |
$127,816 |
6th |
$104,576 |
7th |
$87,534 |
8th |
$76,690 |
9th |
$76,690 |
10th |
$68,944 |
11th |
$58,097 |
12th |
$54,223 |
13th |
$50,815 |
14th |
$47,717 |
15th |
$44,928 |
16th |
$42,449 |
17th |
$40,282 |
18th |
$38,422 |
19th |
$36,873 |
20th |
$35,633 |
21st |
$34,395 |
22nd |
$33,154 |
23rd |
$31,916 |
24th |
$30,675 |
25th |
$29,592 |
26th |
$28,508 |
27th |
$27,421 |
28th |
$26,337 |
29th |
$25,253 |
30th |
$24,324 |
31st |
$23,394 |
32nd |
$22,464 |
33rd |
$21,534 |
34th |
$20,604 |
35th |
$19,831 |
36th |
$19,056 |
37th |
$18,283 |
38th |
$17,507 |
39th |
$16,731 |
40th |
$16,112 |
41st |
$15,493 |
42nd |
$14,874 |
43rd |
$14,252 |
44th |
$13,634 |
45th |
$13,169 |
46th |
$12,704 |
47th |
$12,239 |
48th |
$11,774 |
49th |
$11,309 |
50th |
$10,844 |
51st |
$10,536 |
52nd |
$10,225 |
53rd |
$9,914 |
54th |
$9,606 |
55th |
$9,295 |
56th |
$8,984 |
57th |
$8,676 |
58th |
$8,365 |
59th |
$8,058 |
60th |
$7,747 |
61st |
$7,593 |
62nd |
$7,436 |
63rd |
$7,282 |
64th |
$7,128 |
65th |
$6,971 |
