Women’s golf didn’t reach nine-figure prize pools overnight. For many years, the sport’s commercial presence was small, and even major champions earned about as much as a mid-level club pro does now. That is changing, and the latest announcement from the Amundi Evian Championship shows just how far things have come.

The tournament has announced that its 2026 prize fund will rise to $9.1 million, up from $8 million in 2025. This $1.1 million increase comes 70 days before the first tee shot at the Evian Resort Golf Club on Lake Geneva. The boost is not happening on its own. South Korean industrial group Hyosung, founded in 1966 and now active in 30 countries, has joined as a major sponsor. They join title sponsor Amundi, along with Evian, Danone, and Rolex. This new commercial support is what leads to a bigger prize fund.

Grace Kim took home $1.2 million for her win in 2025. With the 15% winner’s share, the 2026 champion will receive about $1.365 million. For context, Nelly Korda earned $1.35 million at the Chevron Championship, the first major of the season, from a $9 million purse. The Evian now sits just above the Chevron in the 2026 major order, behind the AIG Women’s Open at $10 million and still well below the U.S. Women’s Open and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, both at $12 million.

The numbers are clear. The gap with men’s golf is even clearer. In 2025, the smallest men’s major purse was $17 million at The Open Championship. The U.S. Open paid out $21.5 million. The LPGA’s 2026 schedule totals about $132 million across 33 events. The PGA Tour is over $500 million. This is not a minor difference. It is a structural gap that prize money increases alone will not fix.

The Evian purse shows how quickly things are changing in women’s golf. It was $4.5 million in 2021, then $6.5 million in 2022, and stayed at $8 million through 2024 and 2025 before this latest jump. Doubling in five years is not small progress. It shows that sponsors now see women’s majors as a business investment, not just a gesture. A company like Hyosung, with interests in heavy industry, chemicals, and technology, does not join as a sponsor without a clear commercial reason.

Over the past three years, the total prize money for the five women’s major championships doubled, according to the LPGA. The tour’s records show this growth has continued with each event. While the increase is clear, the real question is whether sponsors will maintain this momentum once the current wave of investment in women’s sports slows.

Amundi Evian Championship and the LPGA’s unfinished climb toward major parity

The Evian’s place among the 2026 majors is becoming clearer, but the gap between the LPGA and PGA Tour remains obvious. Increasing prize money has not closed the structural divide. In 2025, Jeeno Thitikul led the LPGA money list with $7,578,330 for the season. That total would have ranked only 20th on the PGA Tour, behind players with fewer wins. Scottie Scheffler earned $27,659,500 in 20 events. The difference is clear.

A 90% increase in LPGA prize money since 2021 has set a new minimum standard. Now, 43 players have earned over $1 million in a season, a mark that was almost irrelevant ten years ago. This is not parity with the PGA Tour, but it has changed the competitive landscape and given sponsors a reason to invest more.

Broadcast coverage is also improving. Starting in 2026, every LPGA Tour event and every round will be shown live across the United States for the first time since Golf Channel started airing the tour in 1995. This is thanks to a partnership with FM, Golf Channel, and Trackman. More visibility brings in more sponsorship money, which then increases prize funds. The Evian’s $9.1 million purse is partly due to fixing that weakest link.

The real test comes when the hype around women’s sports fades, as it often does when investment cycles slow down. Goodwill is not enough to bridge the gap between $132 million and $500 million. That gap closes only with strong TV ratings, packed stadiums, and commercial returns that convince companies like Hyosung to keep signing cheques after the first deal is done.