LPGA boosts 2027 prize money

THE LPGA Tour released its 2027 schedule on Wednesday, featuring 33 tournaments, a record $147 million in prize money and an itinerary that doesn’t have players bouncing across the country. LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler has emphasized routing, quality of course and prize money, and ticked several of those boxes. The three-week Asia swing in February — which ends with a new tournament in Hong Kong — leads to a two-week stretch in Hawaii on the Big Island and Maui. The first stop is the new Nanea Cup with a $4 million purse for 95 players and 25 amateurs at five colleges competing in separate events held concurrently. Then it’s over to Kapalua’s Plantation course, the most recognizable course in Hawaii because it hosted the PGA Tour’s season opener for 25 years. Asia to Hawaii takes the LPGA Tour straight to the West Coast Swing — Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles (a return to Wilshire Country Club) — before the first major of the year in Houston at The Chevron Championship. “Our schedule impacts every stakeholder, but our athletes remain at the heart of how we build it. Our progress is evident in how our athletes and the entire LPGA ecosystem will move around the...