LPGA Tour Pro Doubles Career Earnings After Making Major History... (But Brutal Lip-Out Cost Her $250,000)

There was an all-time record prize money payout for a women's golf tournament on offer at last week's KPMG Women's PGA Championship, with a total of $13 million shared out among those who made the cut at Hazeltine National.

The biggest share went the way of champion Haeran Ryu from South Korea after she roared back from 10 strokes behind on Friday to triumph by two strokes on Sunday.

Ryu ultimately claimed a winner's check of $1.95 million - surely the second best perk after lifting her maiden Major championship trophy.

For everyone else, they were left to think 'what if?' and analyze where their chances ended. In Dewi Weber's case, she just couldn't find the pair of extra birdies which might have forced a playoff.

Nevertheless, the Dutchwoman was very close. She ended three strokes back of Ryu on 10-under in a tie for third alongside Brooke Henderson, consequently becoming the first player from the Netherlands to finish in the top five at a Major championship.

The result of Weber's career-best finish on the LPGA Tour, which she began in 2022, was a payout of $752,089.

Not only is that the biggest check the 30-year-old has ever earned, but - significantly - it also doubles her LPGA Tour career prize money total in one feel swoop.

Before the year's third Major, Weber had collected a grand total of $739,300 via the historic US circuit since turning pro. That figure now stands at $1,491,389 collected over the past five seasons.

And the timing could hardly be better. Weber and her wife Jentrie are expecting their first child in December, with their home in LA famously being one of the costliest places to settle down in the US.

Speaking afterwards about her huge payday, Weber said: "It takes a lot of stress off of my life. I don't think we'll be making any like super big purchases or whatever. I think life just kind of moves on.

“It takes honestly a lot of stress away from my life. Absolutely. So, in that way it's life-changing, but it's not like – man, we live in LA. Everything is expensive.

“My wife and I joke that I have to win this tournament like three times in order to afford a house where we live. Life-changing in the sense that I can go through life a bit more stress-free.

Of course with our little one coming in December, this helps a ton. But, yeah, we will still be living the same life, probably living in the same townhomes that we live in. Like everything will just remain the same.”

While it was a great week for Weber and she was certainly delighted with her effort, remarkably, things could have been even better if not for a brutal moment on the 18th green in round four.

Stood over a five-footer to save par, Weber's attempt took almost a full lap of the hole before returning towards her above ground.

She was on 11-under before the lip-out and would have finished in a tie for second alongside South Korea's Ina Yoon rather than a share of third. Had Weber hung on, she would have picked up a check for just over $1 million - roughly $250,000 extra.

But the player who had managed only one other top-10 is not thinking about what could have been. Instead, she's delighted with the way she played and what she undoubtedly managed to achieve.

Weber said: "I mean, this was a great week. I'm not sure how else I could summarize it. I'm pretty annoyed about the last putt but like, that was awesome.

Like not just the score. I think I just felt really good out there. Playing free golf, playing good golf, great ball striking. I holed a lot of the putts, too. I have very, very few complaints about this week."