Ryann O’Toole has spent the final months of her best season watching from the sidelines, her clubs packed away as she prepared for motherhood. Yet while the 39-year-old LPGA star has been absent from competition since late August, her season has continued to deliver. On Monday, she collected a $1 million reward without hitting another shot.
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Golfweek reported that O’Toole had been confirmed as the winner of the 2026 Aon Risk Reward Challenge, securing its seven-figure prize despite missing the closing stretch of the season. Aon plc and the LPGA Tour subsequently formalized the result and presented her with the Aon trophy. Her victory came down to a decision that went against a competitor’s instinct: stop playing while still holding the lead rather than risk losing it by returning to competition during pregnancy.
The format made that possible. The Aon Risk Reward Challenge tracks players across 12 Challenge holes, with each player’s two best scores on every hole counting toward the final total. Rather than rewarding consistency across an entire round, the competition places a premium on identifying and capitalizing on scoring opportunities.
O’Toole made the most of those opportunities. Her counting scores left her 22 under par, including 21 under on the par 5s, where she recorded four eagles. She hit 21 of 24 greens in regulation on Challenge holes, an impressive 87.5 percent compared with her overall season average of 65.5 percent. She also made 15 one-putts without recording a single three-putt. Her average score on the designated holes was 0.917 strokes under par.
That proved enough to hold off 2024 champion Jeeno Thitikul, who finished second, while Sei Young Kim claimed third.
The numbers also reflected a significant improvement in an area that had previously held O’Toole back. After ranking 125th on the LPGA Tour in par-5 scoring in 2025, she climbed to 11th in 2026, the best result of her career. She also tied for ninth in total eagles. At 39, O’Toole averaged a career-best 270.6 yards off the tee, having added seven to eight yards with her driver and as much as nine yards with her 3-wood over the offseason.
That extra distance helped make her particularly dangerous in the Challenge.
“I feel the Aon Risk Reward plays to a lot of the longer hitters. If you look at the past winners, they’re all long balls,” she told Golf Digest. “That’s something that I can say, ‘look, I’m 39 and I can still contend with the younger girls and still have distance.'”
Her achievement becomes even more remarkable when viewed against the circumstances surrounding her season. O’Toole made just 14 starts, recording nine cuts made and two top-10 finishes, including one at the Chevron Championship. She had returned to Q-Series the previous season to regain her LPGA Tour card, making her subsequent success particularly meaningful.
LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler highlighted the wider challenges she had navigated, including her limited playing schedule, pregnancy and support for her brother as he recovered from a severe accident.
“That’s really special golf,” Kessler said.
The financial reward is another measure of just how significant the achievement has been. The $1 million prize nearly doubles O’Toole’s previous highest single-season on-course earnings. Across 16 years on the LPGA Tour, she has accumulated approximately $4.7 million, meaning this one award represents almost a fifth of her career earnings.
O’Toole also reflected on the decision-making and perspective behind her season.
“Sometimes the greatest rewards come from continuing to trust yourself, staying committed to what matters most, and embracing the opportunities in front of you, even when the path doesn’t look exactly how you imagined,” she said.
She and her partner, Gina, are expecting a son in January. Whether O’Toole returns to the LPGA Tour in 2027 remains uncertain, as she has deliberately avoided setting a timetable for her comeback. The desire to compete is still there, but motherhood will inevitably influence what comes next.
“I feel like I’d have a hard time walking away from competition and playing, but at the same time I don’t know how I’ll feel about traveling with a newborn or a 1-year-old,” she told Golf Digest.
Kessler, meanwhile, has made clear that the LPGA Tour would welcome her return.
“We can’t wait to see you back out here with your newest fan cheering you on,” he said.
The Aon Risk Reward Challenge will return in 2027, with Thitikul among those who will have another opportunity to claim the prize. O’Toole, however, has already secured a place in its history. She won the $1 million without playing the final months of the season, turning a difficult personal decision into the most lucrative achievement of her career.