Yes, this is a golf website, but if you’re raising a budding female athlete, might we recommend tennis? That’s because in a recent report, 10 of the 15 highest-paid female athletes in the world have a powerful forehand, with only freestyle skier Eileen Gu breaking into the top five.
Still, things aren’t too bad for Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, the two top earners in women’s golf at $11 million and $10.1 million, respectively, according to Sportico. While World No. 1 Thitikul made the majority ($7.6 million) of her income from winnings on tour, World No. 2 Korda took in $8.2 million strictly from endorsements.
According to Sportico, this year saw a tremendous jump for women’s sports in general, with the top 15 taking in $249 million this year from prize money, salaries, bonuses and endorsements. That’s up 12 percent from 2024, with the No. 15 earner (Thitikul) making $10.1 million compared to $6.7 million a year ago (Mind you, No. 15 on the men’s list in 2024 was Jared Goff with $85.8 million).
Korda was able to leap to No. 7 despite an up-and-down season in which she didn’t win a single LPGA title compared to seven wins in 2024. But she did have nine top-10 finishes in 19 starts as well as lucrative partnerships with Nike, TaylorMade, Goldman Sachs and T-Mobile. Thitikul, on the other hand, has her stellar play to thank, especially at the CME Group Tour Championship, in which she took home the $4 million payout in back-to-back years. She’s only 22 years old and already No. 7 on the LPGA career prize money list. Talk about winning at the right time. She’s certainly earned her nickname of “The Four Million Dollar Woman.”
Meanwhile, the potential for more female golfers to join the list in the future is high with the trend in prize money on the LPGA Tour. Tour officials announced that in 2026, players will be competing for a record $132 million over 31 official events.
