The 2022 US Women’s Open is officially underway at the challenging Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club. The field for the second major championship event of the women’s golf circuit includes some of the biggest names in the sport.

Now, let’s dive deeper and check out how much the winner will take home after the final round on Sunday.

Who is the defending champion at the 2022 US Women’s Open?

Yuka Saso won the major championship event in 2021. She emphatically won the tournament by holding onto her nerves during the intense playoff between herself and Nasa Hataoka. Moreover, the Japan-based female professional ended the regulation play of 18-holes with an overall score of four-under-par.

As a result, she forced a playoff against Hataoka and carded a final round of two-over-par, 73. Her final round of 73 included two double-bogey and one birdie on the opening nine holes. Later, she moved out in three-over-par, 38. Saso made two birdies and one bogey on the back nine to end her round. At last, the young professional defeated Nasa to claim the major championship event.

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However, the defending champion did not start strong at this year’s edition of the major championship event. She opened the tournament with a rather disappointing round of six-over-par, 77. Now, she moves into the second round on Friday with an overall score of six-over-par.

Also, her opening round of 77 included five bogeys and one birdie on the opening nine holes. As a result, Yuka moved out in four-over-par, 39. She made three bogeys and one birdie on the back nine to end her round. The female professional will need to go low on Friday to get herself back in contention.

Winner’s payout at the 2022 US Women’s Open

The second major championship event of the season includes 156 females professional, which will be reduced after the 36-holes cutline comes into force. After the cutline is determined on Friday, only the top 60 and ties will move to the weekend at Pine Needles. Not to forget, the field for this week’s event is led by the likes of Lexi Thompson and Nelly Korda.

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Moreover, the total prize money purse for the US Women’s Open stands at a whopping $10 million. The winner will take home $1,800,000, which is different from the standard 15 percent as per the LPGA Tour’s money distribution chart. On top of that, each professional missing the cut will be paid $8,000 by the USGA.

Apart from the money at grab, the tournament winner will also get other significant benefits, including 650 points for the Race to the CME Globe. The top 60 players in the standing after the Drive On Championship get into the season-ending event, the CME Group Tour Championship. At the same time, the winner of the second major of the year will also get a five-year exemption from the LPGA Tour and entries into various other big events.

Breakdown of the $10 million payout

Below is the breakdown of the total purse from the winner to the 60th position on the leaderboard.

What do you think about the prize money?