El LPGA is gearing up for its 75th anniversary season by announcing its 2025 schedule this Thursday. A historic year in which the American women’s circuit will feature no less than 35 events (33 of them official) where the world’s best players will compete for a historic prize fund reaching 131 million dollars. It will be the highest figure in the circuit’s three-quarters of a century, with an increase of 62 million over the last four years and around 90% since 2021.
“The 2024 season was another year of historic growth for the LPGA Tour and with this 2025 schedule, we will continue to enhance that growth,” says LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “This schedule stands out for two new and exciting events, a new multi-year title for the longest-running non-major tournament on the LPGA Tour, even higher purses, greater benefits that will enhance the players’ experience, an improved geographical flow, and a longer off-season that will give our golfers a well-deserved rest after their tremendous work in 2024. We are excited to see even more thrilling competitions and unforgettable moments for our partners, athletes, and fans worldwide as we continue to celebrate and support the extraordinary journey of women’s golf in our 75th anniversary,” she concludes.
The global schedule will start two weeks later than in 2024 and will take the LPGA Tour to 14 states in the United States and 11 other countries, including two multi-event Asian swings, the first in February and March and the second in October and November, which includes the return of the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown in Korea. A European tour will be held in July and August. A novelty in the 2025 schedule is the already announced Black Desert Championship – the only national event offering private charter flights for LPGA golfers – which will be held at the iconic Black Desert Resort course in May. Additionally, the LPGA Tour returns to Mexico for the first time since 2017 for the Riviera Maya Open in Cancún, also in May.
The prize funds, excluding majors, amount to over 83 million dollars for the 2025 season compared to 45.8 million dollars in 2021. The JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro returns to the schedule in 2025 after receiving the LPGA Tournament of the Year award in 2024 for continuing to increase purses across the circuit and benefits for players. To date, nine tournaments have announced increases in their prizes starting in 2024, and the FM Championship has become the first non-major and non-CME Group Tour event to exceed 4 million dollars. Additional prize increases are expected to be announced, based on the record prize fund for 2025. Sixteen events have purses of at least 3 million dollars, including 10 non-major and non-Tour Championship events. In addition to the prize increases, 24 events will elevate the athlete experience through collaborations with travel, free accommodations, and/or guaranteed minimum payments.
The CME Group Tour Championship, where the season concludes, remains at the forefront in terms of non-major tournament prizes. The LPGA has announced today the extension of CME Group as the main sponsor of the CME Group Tour Championship until 2027, which features the largest prize fund and the biggest winner’s cheque on the tour. The 11 million dollar purse includes a 4 million dollar cheque for the winner, the largest prize in women’s golf history and one of the highest in women’s sports.
The 2025 major championship season will be exciting, with LPGA Tour players competing for over 47 million dollars and visiting three new venues. This figure is the highest in the circuit’s 75-year history and represents an increase of more than 104% since 2021. The season kicks off in April with the Chevron Championship, once again held at The Woodlands, Texas, at The Club at Carlton Woods. In May, the LPGA Tour will make its first trip to Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin, for the U.S. Women’s Open. Three weeks later, the circuit will visit the PGA of America’s headquarters for the first time, where the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be held at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, in Frisco, Texas. The Amundi Evian Championship, at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France, will kick off the summer European tour in July; and the AIG Women’s Open in Wales, at Royal Porthcawl, another new venue, will conclude it in August.
Thirty-two golfers will have the opportunity to represent their countries in the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, which will be held in October at the New Korea Country Club in Goyang (Republic of Korea). The biennial team match-play event features eight teams, represented by four players each, all competing for the coveted crown. The last time the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown was contested was in 2023 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, where the Thai team consisting of Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn, Patty Tavatanakit, and Jeeno Thitikul triumphed over the Australians. The United States team finished third.
