The LPGA Tour has come a long way, especially in 2024. For the past couple of years, there has been a visible spike in the popularity of women’s golf. There are better deals on the table.
The purses are higher. The tour’s prize fund has grown by over 90% since 2021, and the average earnings for the top 100 golfers increased from about $570,000 in 2021 to more than $1 million this past season.
Take the purse of the CME Group Tour Championship, for instance. It increased from $7 million in 2023 to $11 million this year. Overall, there is one person to thank for this. The ninth and soon-to-be out-of-office LPGA Commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan. But it seems all of it was not enough, says the retiring 8-time LPGA Tour champion Brittany Lincicome.
In an interview with Golf Channel, she shared her thoughts on why Marcoux Samaan may have decided to step down as the commissioner effective from January 9, 2025: “There have been rumors of negative stuff the players felt Mollie wasn’t doing.
At the end of the day, you are never going to please 144 women,” she said. Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko significantly added to the visibility with their sensational seasons, but many accused the Tour of not being able to capitalize on this rise for its benefit.
The LPGA Tour has come a long way, especially in 2024. For the past couple of years, there has been a visible spike in the popularity of women’s golf. There are better deals on the table.
The purses are higher. The tour’s prize fund has grown by over 90% since 2021, and the average earnings for the top 100 golfers increased from about $570,000 in 2021 to more than $1 million this past season.
Take the purse of the CME Group Tour Championship, for instance. It increased from $7 million in 2023 to $11 million this year. Overall, there is one person to thank for this. The ninth and soon-to-be out-of-office LPGA Commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan. But it seems all of it was not enough, says the retiring 8-time LPGA Tour champion Brittany Lincicome.
In an interview with Golf Channel, she shared her thoughts on why Marcoux Samaan may have decided to step down as the commissioner effective from January 9, 2025: “There have been rumors of negative stuff the players felt Mollie wasn’t doing.
At the end of the day, you are never going to please 144 women,” she said. Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko significantly added to the visibility with their sensational seasons, but many accused the Tour of not being able to capitalize on this rise for its benefit.
