feature-image

Imago

feature-image

Imago

Money talks, but this season it is speaking with Nelly Korda‘s accent. While the men’s major champions grabbed the headlines, the LPGA World No. 1 quietly built a paycheck that left several of them trailing. According to a Front Office Sports report, the World No. 1 banked $4.59 million across the LPGA’s five majors in 2026, surpassing the major earnings of Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Aaron Rai and Ryan Fox.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

Only Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark earned more from majors this year, making Korda one of just three players across both tours to cross that financial mark.

ADVERTISEMENT

There was no single blockbuster week carrying the total. Korda pieced it together with two major victories and two more strong finishes. Her Chevron Championship win brought in $1.35 million before the U.S. Women’s Open delivered a record $2.5 million payday.

Your new favorite golf game — The Daily Nine
83% of our readers couldn't break par yesterday

Changing winds, tricky bunkers, and quirky breaks test every shot. Beat par, compare scores, and return tomorrow for a new challenge.

TEE OFF HERE

She followed that with $275,235 for a tie for eighth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and another $465,601 for a tie for fourth at the AIG Women’s Open. Even a missed cut at the Amundi Evian Championship could not keep her from topping the women’s major money list. By the end of the five majors, Korda had earned more on the biggest stages than four men’s major winners.

ADVERTISEMENT

That is what makes the numbers impossible to ignore. The LPGA’s five majors offered a combined purse of $53.6 million, almost $30 million less than the $83.25 million available across the men’s four majors.

Yet Korda extracted more value from those opportunities than several players competing for much richer prize funds. Her season-long earnings now stand at $6.18 million, nearly $1.8 million clear of Haeran Ryu with 11 tournaments still left to play.

ADVERTISEMENT

Korda’s major campaign did not just leave her with the biggest checks. It also earned her the LPGA’s highest major-season honor. Her tie for fourth at the AIG Women’s Open added 14 points, taking her to 140 and sealing the 2026 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award ahead of Haeran Ryu, who finished on 130.

The award recognizes the player with the strongest record across all five LPGA majors, provided they have won at least one. Korda became only the second player to win it twice, joining Minjee Lee, while also extending her lead atop the Rolex Player of the Year standings and the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

ADVERTISEMENT

The award put the finishing touch on a major season that kept delivering. Korda opened with victories at the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open, becoming the first American since Pat Bradley in 1986 to win the year’s first two women’s majors. She followed with a T8 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, missed the cut at the Evian Championship, then rebounded with a T4 finish at Royal Lytham & St Annes to lock up the honor.

In doing so, she also became the first player since Inbee Park in 2015 to record four top-10 finishes and multiple major victories in the same season. For a season measured by golf’s biggest stages, Korda rarely left empty-handed.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Meenakshi Karn

1,407 Articles

Meenakshi Karn is a Senior Writer at EssentiallySports, contributing to ES Golf’s trend-driven and player-focused coverage. A key figure at the ES Majors NewsCenter, she thrives on Moving Day—energizing the newsroom with timely reporting that captures leaderboard shifts. She also collaborated across sports during ES’ 24/7 Paris Olympics coverage. Meenakshi’s standout year on the golf desk earned her a place in the EssentiallySports Journalistic Excellence Program, where she continues to sharpen her editorial voice and expand her footprint in digital golf media.

Know more

ADVERTISEMENT