Competition, total prize money ↓ average prize money ↑ Most popular KLPGA, kept its pride
Jan 21, 2025
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Last year, a total of 31 competitions and one competition and total prize money decreased by about 700 million won from about 33.2 billion won. However, the average prize money has increased. The average award amount rose by about 10 million won from 1.07 billion won last year.
The number of domestic competitions was maintained at 29, and the number of competitions worth more than 1 billion won increased from 21 last season to 26 (about 87% of all competitions). The reason for the increase in average prize money is due to the increase in total prize money in new competitions and existing competitions this season.
There are a total of three new competitions for the KLPGA regular tour in the 2025 season. The 'iM Financial Open' and 'Deokshin EPC Championship' of 1 billion won in total prize money will debut in April. The last week of July is the last week of the 'Aurora World Championship', which was held in October.
The five competitions increased the prize money. The total prize money of 'Blue Canyon Ladies Championship', which will be held as the opening game of the KLPGA regular tour in the 2025 season, has increased by $150,000 (about 220 million won) from $650,000 to $800,000. 'NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship' and 'McCall-Mona Yongpyeong Open with SBS Golf' increased the total prize money from KRW 800 million to KRW 1 billion, respectively.
The only match-play competition of the KLPGA Tour, the Doosan Match Play, and the S-OIL Championship, which marks its 19th anniversary this year, increased by 100 million won each, from 900 million won to 1 billion won. In addition, as some sponsors plan to increase the total prize money, the total prize money for 30 competitions in the 2025 season is expected to be similar to or higher than last year's 33.2 billion won.
There was also a competition that said goodbye unfortunately. Hanwha Classic, which has been a 34-year-old major prize money tournament with a total prize money of 1.7 billion won, has decided to stop the competition from this year. The SK Telecom and SK Shields Championship, the last competition of the season, and the Kyochon 1991 Ladies Open, which has been in operation for the past decade, have also decided to suspend them. Hana Financial Singapore Women's Open, which has been held overseas for the past two years, will not be held this season.
Although it is the most popular KLPGA, it seems that we should be on preemptive alert. This is because the overall economic indicators are not good. Uncertainty is growing in the internal and external economic conditions amid the unstable domestic situation and the aftermath of U.S. President Trump's inauguration. As a result, companies are holding their breath as a whole. The decrease in major competitions and the disappearance of some of the big names of companies should be seen as a red flag. Although sponsors of the existing competition maintained the average amount by increasing the prize money, it is not very welcome to take a step in place considering inflation.
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'The Heaven Masters', which debuted in August last year, has moved to the third week of June. Starting the second half of the year 'Jeju Samdasoo Masters' will be held from August 7, a week later than last year. The 'Medi Hill·Hankyung Daily Championship', which has been held in April from 2022 to last year, will be held in the second week of August, and the"BC Card·Hankyung Ladies Cup", which has been held since 2015 to June, will be held in the third week of August.
The only modified stableford method of the KLPGA Tour, 'Dongbu Construction and Korea Land Trust Championship', has been changed to a schedule that runs from October 1st to 4th this year only. The 'Daebo Housedy Open', which was held from 2023 to September, will be moved to November and will be the final match of the 2025 season.
KLPGT CEO Lee Young-mi said, `We are grateful to the athletes and officials and golf fans who waited for the confirmation of the schedule for this season,' adding, `We also sincerely thank all sponsors who have decided to hold the tournament for the development of Korean women's golf during difficult times.' The KLPGA regular tour for the 2025 season will begin in March with the Blue Canyon Ladies Championship in Thailand. After a short two-week break, the opening game in Korea will be held to mark the full-fledged start of the KLPGA regular tour in the 2025 season through the Doosan Engineering & Construction We've Championship.
Meanwhile, KLPGT will announce the schedule of the Dream, Jump, and Champions Tour as soon as it is confirmed after coordinating with sponsors such as schedule, prize money, and venue. Dream Tour is expected to expand its scale by holding a total of 22 competitions, including two competitions held overseas for the first time in Dream Tour history. The Jump Tour and Champions Tour are expected to be held at a similar level to last year's.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
