‘We’re Keeping the Lights On, They’re Buying Bentleys!’: Karen Stupples On LPGA vs PGA Tour Budgets

Ahead of this week’s AIG Women’s Open, we caught up with 2004 champion Karen Stupples. Since lifting the trophy at Sunningdale, Englishwoman Stupples has transitioned seamlessly from a tour player to one of the most respected voices in golf broadcasting.

Now based in the US, where she serves as an on-course reporter and analyst, Stupples reflects on the financial evolution of the LPGA, the need for more shot-tracking analytics, the British talent pushing the game forward, and what it’s really like calling golf’s biggest moments from inside the ropes.

You experienced a full spectrum in your career, from the early lean years to becoming a Major champion. What are your thoughts on today’s game and the purses the players are competing for?

When it comes to the increase in purses, I 100 percent would have loved to be playing for that kind of money when I was competing! But I’m also extremely grateful for what I did play for. It gave me, my son, and my family a great life.

However, the players today have so much more at their fingertips, not just the purses, but the facilities, the golf courses, the fitness trailers, the physios. There are a lot of good things happening on tour right now, and I feel proud that, as a women’s sporting organisation, we can provide this for today's players.

Looking past the big headline numbers, is it still a financial grind for players outside the top 50?

If you look at someone finishing 80th on the money list, keeping their playing card, they might gross around $340,000. On paper, you’d think you could make a decent living on that. Obviously, you have caddie fees, percentages for coaches, flights, and hotels coming out of it.

It depends on how you manage your lifestyle, but it’s a solid baseline. There will always be players who struggle to make the numbers work, but if you’re keeping your card, you should be able to make a living.

When I played, the reality was simple: you had to make money to pay your bills and stay out there. That financial pressure drove you to keep improving. I knew, for instance, that I had to rebuild my swing if I wanted to stay on tour and be competitive.

How did you go about making those structural changes to your game?

I found a coach in America, Chip Koehlke, down at the Faldo Golf Institute in Orlando. Coming from the UK, I had a low draw, a ball flight that simply wasn't going to make me much money on American courses.

We reworked my swing, focusing heavily on getting my backswing more on plane. It took about a year, but throughout that process, I managed to play well enough to keep my card. Combined with physical training and working with a sports psychologist, Martha Cobo, it took me from being a journeyman pro to someone regularly contending in the top 20 or top 30 on the money list.

I started working with Chip in 2001, built up my consistency through 2003, and then opened 2004 with a win before winning the Women’s Open at Sunningdale later that summer.

If you had access to modern launch monitors and club technology during your prime, would it have made a dramatic difference?

Absolutely. I invested in a Garmin unit recently just to mess around with, and it completely revolutionised how I view practice. Suddenly, I knew my exact carry numbers, my spin rates, and how to maximise my launch off the driver. You can optimise equipment on a level we simply didn't have access to back then.

In my day, having a Bushnell laser was considered revolutionary because you didn't have to pace out every yardage from a sprinkler head! But for wedge distances, I still had to hit endless shots, pacing out a 9 o’clock, 10 o’clock, and 11 o’clock swing, just to calculate carry. Today, players hit a ball and the exact data pops up instantly on a screen. You can dial performance in to an incredible degree.

You’ve lived in the United States for a long time now. What do you miss most about home in the UK?

Family, first and foremost. British bacon is right up there, too! I miss pub beer gardens, the countryside, and just the general familiarity of home - supermarkets, certain smells, even the way washing detergent smells in the UK. It reminds you of growing up. I definitely don’t miss driving down tiny country lanes, small parking spaces, or tiny showers, though!

Tell us about your son, Logan. Was he ever tempted to follow in your footsteps into golf?

He’s 19 now and plays college baseball. Golf was always an option for him, he had a set of clubs and could go whenever he wanted, but he never asked to play, and I never pushed it. Golf is hard enough without feeling forced into it.

He fell in love with baseball, grew to 6-foot-2, and progressed really well as a hitter. He’s also incredibly mathematically inclined. Finding a university where he could play baseball while studying aerospace engineering was a challenge, but he ended up at Illinois Tech in Chicago. He’s building rockets, he launched his first one in his first semester, and he’s on track to finish his master’s degree in fluid dynamics alongside his bachelor's. I couldn't be prouder of him.

You were one of only a few Englishwomen to win a Major when you triumphed in 2004. What are your thoughts on the current crop of British talent?

Georgia Hall won in 2018, of course, and Charley Hull is remarkably talented. Charley has put herself in contention at Majors multiple times now and is so close to getting over the line - she’s been a little unlucky not to have won one already. A golf course that inspires her creativity is always going to be a playground for her.

Then you look at the newer wave coming through. Lottie Woad has the mental discipline and power to reach world number one, Mimi Rhodes has already shown serious winning pedigree, and players like Caley McGinty are coming through the ranks. It’s a very exciting, dynamic time for English golf.

As an on-course reporter, can you feel when a momentum shift or a collapse is about to happen before the viewers at home spot it?

Yes, because I still feel it as if it’s me playing the shot. So, when I’m out walking with a group, I feel it as though I were standing over the ball myself. If I feel a bit nervous, I know they’re feeling a bit nervous. You can see when a shot is dicey or tough. Or maybe it's a piece of cake and I’d feel very comfortable hitting a chip or a putt. I think it puts me in a good position because I can still recall the exact feeling I had when I played. It’s never left me.

How did you make the transition from player to broadcaster? Did you have a mentor starting out?

In television, you generally get thrown in at the deep end to see if you sink or swim! I did some radio for the BBC right after my son was born in 2007, which I loved. But around 2013, as my playing career was winding down, I started shadowing the Golf Channel team.

I spent time in the trucks, in the booth, and walked the course watching people like Judy Rankin and Jerry Foltz. Judy was fantastic, and Jerry was a brilliant guide on the ground. Without their advice and support early on, I wouldn't be doing what I do today. It’s a competitive industry, but having diverse female voices in golf broadcasting is crucial. We see and articulate the game through a slightly different lens, which makes the coverage richer for everyone.

Can you recall a memorable hiccup or embarrassing moment from your time covering the tour?

Oh, I’ve had a few! But my most embarrassing moment happened covering the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty International, following Charley Hoffman in his match against Jason Day.

Charley hit a shot down toward a fairway bunker, and because the guys hit the ball such an extraordinary distance, I was hustling down the course to walk the number off. As I approached the bunker, I looked down and realised I had just physically kicked Charley Hoffman’s ball!

The rules official asked if I knew where it originally lay, so I pointed to the absolute best lie I could possibly find. Charley just laughed his head off—he thought it was hilarious. I’m still thoroughly embarrassed about it to this day, but America won the Cup, so no harm done!

Do you prefer being out on the course or working in the booth?

I love being on-course because you're right in the heart of the action feeling that adrenaline. On the ground, you have to create a visual for the viewer purely through what you're hearing and seeing in real time. Studio and booth work allow you to delve deeper into the analytical nitty-gritty, but walking inside the ropes lets you have fun and convey the raw emotion of the tournament as it unfolds.

If you were commissioner of the LPGA, what would be your top priority for the women's game?

My immediate priority would be finding ways to get more ‘bums in seats’ at events, getting more spectators on site. These players deserve to be watched in person. Seeing women's golf live can inspire an entire generation of young boys and girls, and we need to use local TV and media to really push community awareness when a tournament comes to town.

However, the single biggest thing we could possibly implement, which requires an extraordinary amount of money, would be a comprehensive shot-tracking system like ShotLink.

Modern fans digest sports through an analytical lens. On the PGA Tour, you have indisputable facts, figures, and data for every single shot. As reporters and journalists, that data allows you to back up stories, analyse trends, and quantitatively prove just how extraordinarily talented these players are. Right now, without that data, fewer stories are written about women’s golf because reporters simply don't have the factual numbers to rely on.

Is the lack of shot-tracking technology simply down to the financial gap between women’s and men’s golf?

The LPGA is an organisation that makes the absolute most out of very little. Commissioners like Mike Whan and Craig Kessler maximise every resource. Think of it like running a household: if you have a budget, you spend money to keep the lights on and put food on the table. You don't spend it on a flashy car or a brand-new phone every year. The LPGA is a "keep the lights on, put food on the table" organisation, whereas the PGA Tour operates more like, "Let's buy a Bentley and get the newest iPhone as soon as it comes out." That's the commercial reality.

Finally, are we ever going to see you back with a peg in the ground in competitive golf?

Potentially! I’ve had thoughts about preparing for the US Senior Women’s Open in 2027. We’ll see, but the itch to play competitive golf again is definitely there.