The 2025 LPGA Tour has showcased remarkable consistency and dominance from two of women’s golf’s brightest stars – Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul. While both players are perennial favorites and among the tour’s elite, their earnings and results this season illustrate contrasting but equally compelling narratives of success, bringing them both into the top 15 highest-paid female athletes in 2025. But how much did each of them earn?

For Nelly Korda, the 2025 season began with a runner-up position at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January, garnering $227,854. Her next big win came with a T2 finish at the US Women’s Open, where she earned $1,052,621. And in November, Korda came third at the CME Group Tour Championship, which got her richer by $550,000. Summing up her earnings from other appearances, the Floridian officially earned a total of $2,764,699.

Meanwhile, Jeeno Thitikul had a comparatively different story. She began her 2025 stint in February with the Honda LPGA Thailand and secured the third spot and $114,750 in reward money. But it was the Mizuho Americas Open in May that marked her first win of the year. And she took home a sum of $450,000. However, Thitikul failed to make the cut for the US Women’s Open and won nothing from the competition. 

The Thai golfer later finished T4th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and won $536,635, and then ended as a runner-up in the Evian Championship, earning $722,002. She came in second at the FM Championship and the Kroger Queen City Championship, too, earning $378,640 and $182,956, respectively. Thitikul even won the Buick LPGA Shanghai in September, thickening her wallet by $330,000. 
But it was the CME Group Tour Championship win that changed the entire picture. Jeeno Thitikul received $4 million for winning the championship in November. Along with a few other performances throughout 2025, the 22-year-old star officially earned $7,578,330.

The $4 million win also put Thitikul on #7 in the LPGA career prize money list, with a total career earnings of $17,369,400, leaving Korda at #9 with $16,109,558. But for 2025, Thitikul topped the list with three wins and 20 events played, making a grand total of $7.6 million. Meanwhile, Nelly Korda had no wins, but she appeared in 20 events, amassed $2.8 million, and ended up in the fifth spot. 

Thitikul clearly separated herself with victories, higher finishes, and nearly triple the prize money. Korda’s reliability remains unquestioned, but 2025 belonged decisively to Thitikul, whose breakthrough campaign has reshaped the money rankings and tightened the competitive landscape heading into 2026.

However, according to Sportico’s list of the top 15 highest-paid female athletes of the year 2025, Jeeno Thitikul secured the 15th position with total earnings of $10.1 million. But Nelly Korda was positioned significantly higher, at #7, with total earnings of $13.8 million in 2025. Needless to say, Thitikul dominated on-course earnings, but Korda’s superior endorsement strength ultimately led to her 2025 financial success.

Written by

Krushna Pattnaik

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar