Nelly Korda secured a historic milestone by earning a combined $4.59 million across the five LPGA major championships in 2026, out-earning nearly all elite male golfers in major tournament prize money

According to a Front Office Sports report, Korda's major championship haul this season was higher than that of Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Aaron Rai, and Ryan Fox across their major starts.

Rai won the PGA Championship at Aronimink, and Fox won the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

Only two men finished the major season with bigger paydays than Korda: Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark.

McIlroy's total came largely from his back-to-back Masters wins in April, which earned him a $4.5 million payday. And Clark won the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills for a $4.5 million payday.

It puts Korda in rare company for the first time in golf's history — one of only three golfers, men or women, to clear that financial record from majors alone in 2026.

The achievement is particularly notable because the five women's majors featured a combined prize pool of $53.6 million, significantly lower than the $83.25 million distributed across the four men's majors.

Korda opened the major season with a win at the Chevron Championship, worth $1.35 million. A month later, she won the U.S. Women's Open at Riviera Country Club for a $2.5 million check.

She followed that with a tie for eighth at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship ($275,235) and a tie for fourth at the AIG Women's Open ($465,601).

Her only low week was the Amundi Evian Championship, where she missed the cut and earned nothing.

The player who chased her the closest was Haeran Ryu. Ryu finished second on the women’s major money list with $3.72 million, which also placed her seventh overall among men and women combined.

Ryu built her total on her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for $1.95 million and the Amundi Evian Championship for $1.4 million.

Beyond the paycheck: Korda also won the ANNIKA Major Award

Korda’s major season ended with more than the money. After tying for fourth at the AIG Women’s Open, Korda also earned the LPGA's ANNIKA Major Award honor for the second time in her career.

Korda first won the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award in 2024, a season in which she won seven times on Tour. Korda joins Minjee Lee, who won the award in 2022 and again in 2025, as the only two-time recipients since the honor was introduced in 2014.

Entering the AIG Women's Open, Korda and Ryu were the only two players even eligible for the award, since both had two major wins apiece.

A tie for eighth at the KPMG Championship had already given Korda a six-point cushion over Ryu. At Royal Lytham & St Annes, she ground out a tie for fourth, good for 14 more points and a final tally of 140 to Ryu's 130.

So, after a trophyless 2025 season, Korda now became the first player since Inbee Park in 2015 to post multiple major wins and four top-10 finishes in the same season.

And with 11 LPGA events remaining on the 2026 schedule, Korda enters the fall with the No. 1 world ranking, the points lead for Rolex Player of the Year, and a form that shows no signs of slowing down.

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Md Saife Fida