AIG Women’s Open 2024 payout in full: How much did Lydia Ko win?

How much will the 2024 AIG Women's British Open winner receive?

How much prize money did Lydia Ko receive for winning the 2024 AIG Women’s British Open at St Andrews and how has the purse evolved over the years?

The purse for 2024’s AIG Women’s British Open has had a $500,000 increase from 2023, taking the total prize fund for this year’s championship to $9.5million. That’s a 5.5% increase from the $9million purse last year. 2023 saw a 23% increase from $7.3million in 2022. While the women’s purse is dwarfed by the $17 million fund distributed at Royal Troon this year, it has made significant progress in recent years almost tripling in size since 2018 when Georgia Hall won at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

Title sponsors AIG provided the impetus when they took the reins from Ricoh in 2019, giving the purse a healthy $1.25 million lift after it had remained relatively stagnant between $2.75 and $3.25 million for seven years. The prize fund hit the $1 million mark for the first time in 1998 having grown from humble £500 beginnings in 1976 where champion Jenny Lee Smith took home £210. The purse switched from British sterling to US dollars in 1994.

The British Open currently stands as the third most lucrative Major in the women’s game behind the record $12 million offered at the US Open and $10.4 million at the KPMG PGA Championship. The Evian and Chevron Championships offered $8 million and $7.9 million purses respectively in 2024.

Lilia Vu pocketed $1.35 million in 2023 for her Walton Heath victory, just the second time the first prize has exceeded one million, and $1.75 million less than Xander Schauffele’s cheque at Royal Troon. When the Women’s Open was last held at St Andrews in 2013, American Stacy Lewis received a cut of just over $400,000 from the $2.75 million purse.

Lydia Ko, the winner of the AIG Women’s Open in 2024, took home home $1.42 million, 15% of the overall pot.

AIG Women’s British Open prize fund evolution

Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A said, “In AIG, we have the support of a deeply trusted partner, as we look to continue to elevate the AIG Women’s Open. We have a clear vision for the AIG Women’s Open; we want to see the best women golfers compete on the best golf courses in front of large crowds and show us how good they are.
 
“When I look around at the 2023 AIG Women’s Open and what we have achieved in five years, I am incredibly proud; but even more so, I am inspired by what we can still do. The future of women’s golf is bright and it is up to us, with the support of the wider industry, to take bold steps, in a way that is financially sustainable, to ensure our aspirations become reality.”

Here’s how the purse was distributed at St Andrews in 2024.

2024 AIG Women’s British Open: Prize money breakdown

About the author

Ross Tugwood

Senior Digital Writer

Ross Tugwood is a Senior Digital Writer for todays-golfer.com, specializing in data, analytics, science, and innovation.

Ross is passionate about optimizing sports performance and has a decade of experience working with professional athletes and coaches for British Athletics, the UK Sports Institute, and Team GB.

He is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with post-graduate degrees in Performance Analysis and Sports Journalism, enabling him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make better-informed buying decisions.