In 2023, the era of winning prize money of 300 million won has reopened on the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) tour.

On January 31, the KLPGA tour announced a new schedule with a total prize money of about 31.1 billion won for 32 tournaments in the 2023 season.

The number of competitions increased by 2 from 30 last season, and the total prize money increased by about 2.8 billion won from 28.3 billion won. This is the first time in KLPGA history that the total prize money for a regular tour season has exceeded 30 billion won.

The biggest change is the revival of the era of prize money of 300 million won.

The Hanwha Classic, which opens on August 24, increased the total prize money from 1.4 billion won last year to 1.667 billion won, bringing the winning prize to 300 million won.

It was in 2012 that the era of 300 million won prize money opened on the KLPGA tour. The total prize money of the Hanwha Classic was 1.2 billion won and the winning prize was 300 million won. Since 2014, the total prize money has increased to 1.4 billion won, and the winning prize has increased to 350 million won. This is the highest amount ever.

Then, with the 2020 Hana Financial Group Championship, the era of winning prize money of 300 million won came to an end.

This is because the KLPGA tour changed the rate of prize money. In order to distribute the prize money evenly, the winning prize money was lowered from 20-25% to 18%, and instead, the rate for the middle and lower ranks was raised.

Due to the change in the prize money rate, the Hana Financial Group Championship, held last year with a total prize money of 1.5 billion won on the KLPGA Tour, was the highest at 270 million won. The Hanwha Classic had the second highest prize money of 252 million won with a total prize money of 1.4 billion won.

The total prize money of the Hanwha Classic this year has increased to 1.667 billion won, reopening the era of 300 million won in prize money on the KLPGA tour for the first time in three years. The Hanwha Classic also regained the title of the KLPGA tour’s largest prize money event.

The Hanwha Classic, held since 2011, boasted the highest prize money on the KLPGA Tour until 2019. In 2020, while the competition was not held due to the spread of Corona 19, the Hana Financial Group Championship newly established a competition with a total prize money of 1.5 billion won and gave away the title of the highest prize competition.

An official from Hanwha Classic said, “The biggest purpose of holding the tournament is the development of the domestic golf industry and the KLPGA Tour, so there has been a sense of stagnation as the prize money has not been increased in recent years. In the meantime, on foreign tours, the size of the prize money has increased, widening the gap with us.”

This year’s KLPGA tour will be enriched with two new events scheduled. In August, mid-sized domestic construction companies are scheduled to hold a tournament with a total prize pool of more than 1 billion won, and a new tournament with a total prize pool of 1.2 billion won is being prepared in October. However, it is not easy to find a sponsor for the October tournament, which is held during the same period as the BMW Ladies Championship, which is held by the LPGA tour. The KLPGA tour only announced plans to attract a tournament with a minimum total prize of 1.2 billion won. 안전놀이터

The tournaments that increased prize money this year include the Hanwha Classic, the Chris F&C KLPGA Championship, the Doosan Match Play, and the Celltrion Queens Masters. increased by at least 1 billion won.

The KLPGA tour started the 2023 season with the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open held in Singapore in December of last year, and the Lotte Rental Women’s Open held at Lotte Skyhill Jeju in Seogwipo-si, Jeju from April 6 as the opening game in Korea. rush in