'Staggering Difference' - The $42.5M Gap Shadowing The Pro Game

Reflecting on our 2025 goals for women’s golf as we approach the start of the 2026 LPGA season, it is clear that the sport is moving in the right direction. Many of the developments we envisioned for both professional and amateur players are finally taking shape, and it is rewarding to see several items from our wish list come to fruition.

A priority was an increase in visibility and TV coverage, and while we didn’t see a dramatic shift in air-time throughout 2025, that goal was reached at the end of last year via a landmark TV contract with FM, the Golf Channel, and Trackman.

Designed to deliver greater coverage and equality with the men’s professional game, the deal ensures every round of every LPGA tournament is now broadcast live in the US. The viewing experience will be transformed this year with 50% more cameras, slow-motion swing capture, drone footage, and microphones on player-caddies to capture the action.

In the UK, Sky Sports has extended its partnership to continue airing all five women's golf Majors, while the BBC has secured multi-year rights for the AIG Women's Open from 2025 to 2027.

We also looked for more innovation in tournament formats, specifically those that bring the men’s and women’s games together. The Scandinavian Mixed was a trailblazing co-sanctioned DP World Tour and LET event inaugurated in 2021, yet it sadly disappeared from the schedule last year.

While a dedicated mixed event where players compete for the same purse has yet to return, positive strides have been made with the recent announcement of the WTGL indoor league to mirror the men’s TGL, launching at the SoFi Center in Florida at the end of 2026. The first group of players to commit to WTGL are Jeeno Thitikul, Charley Hull, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and Lexi Thompson.

One of our big hopes was for a reduction in the pay difference between the LPGA and PGA tours. A major leap did happen in the LPGA's historic 75th anniversary season last year, with prize money increasing by 90% since 2021. This enabled 43 athletes to surpass the $1 million mark in on-course earnings.

This year, that momentum continues as the women will be competing for a landmark prize pot of $132 million, the largest in the Tour's history. However, the gap remains staggering; Scottie Scheffler picked up more than $50 million in 2025 while LPGA’s top earner, Jeeno Thitikul, earned just over $7.5 million - a difference of $42.5 million!

We also wished for an LPGA or LET graduate to become the next big thing, and England’s Lottie Woad delivered, going from the heights of amateur stardom to securing her maiden LPGA Tour title in her first professional appearance. Woad wasn't the only one making headlines. Japanese rookie Miyu Yamashita claimed Major victory at the AIG Women's Open and was one of only two players to win twice on the LPGA in 2025

Finally, at club level, there were many positive stories in 2025 including the increasing number of women taking up golf and clubs creating more inclusive environments by introducing forward tees and new formats to help bridge the membership gap.

Despite many positive steps, there is still work to be done, and our team of female writers highlight below what they would like to see change in 2026.

Carly Cummins

Carly Cummins is one of the golf industry’s best-known female writers, having worked for golf magazines for over 20 years. Her passion for golf and skill at writing combine to give her an unbeatable insight into the women's game.

I’d like to see more mixed club competitions to give working women the opportunity to play with a wider variety of players at the weekend. It’s still common for there to only be one or two working women at golf clubs who inevitably end up playing in the same two or three-ball every weekend. It would be wonderful if working women were simply allowed to sign up to the same weekend competitions as the men. True equality for the game surely lies with this moving forward.

Alison Root

Alison Root has over 25 years experience working in media and events, predominantly dedicated to women's golf. She is a respected and leading voice in the industry, overseeing women's content that communicates to active golfers from grassroots through to the professional scene.

Balls should be set in motion to change the Presidents Cup into a mixed event, as interest is waning. The USA has won 13 times, tied once and only lost in 1998. Taking Europe out of the equation for the International team is a disadvantage in the men’s game, but in women’s golf it’s the opposite. Adding all the great Asian players who rank inside the top 10, plus others such as Australian Minji Lee and New Zealander Lydia Ko, would be fantastic for elevating women’s golf. Fans love the "them vs us" format of the Ryder and Solheim Cups, and a mixed Presidents Cup could be a genuine nail-biter.

Emma Booth

Emma has worked in the golf industry for more than 20 years. After a successful amateur career, she decided to pursue her true golfing passion of coaching and became a qualified PGA Professional in 2009. In 2015, alongside her husband Gary, who is also a PGA Professional, they set up and now run Winchester Golf Academy,

I would like women to be more ambitious about what their goals are in golf. That doesn’t necessarily mean striving for more; I want them to be more focused on discovering the type of golf that they enjoy and want to play. Whether that leads to them deciding they only want to play social golf or competitive play, they should stick to their guns and not feel pressured. For those who do want to be ambitious, I’d love to see them be more open about wanting to practice and not being afraid to be seen as "going for it." Find the type of golf that you want to play and strive for it. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.

Katie Dawkins

Katie is an Advanced PGA professional with over 20 years of coaching experience. She helps golfers of every age and ability to be the best versions of themselves. In January 2022 she was named as one of Golf Monthly's Top 50 Coaches.

I would improve visibility across all tours, including the smaller ones. I would like to see more brands invest in their own projects to make the players they sponsor visible and create opportunities for up-and-coming players to be seen. Social media would be a brilliant tool for this, seeing small bubbles of fun stunts and mini-documentaries. If we increase viewing of the women’s tour through better entertainment like slow-motion analysis and shot tracers, everything grows, meaning more money for grassroots golf and more young girls emulating their heroines.