There’s plenty to celebrate when it comes to the record-setting purses, renewed corporate interests, and growing attention on the LPGA Tour. But when did this surge begin? Was there one event that was the launching point that sent the LPGA into this most recent period of growth?

Eight years ago, a transformative alliance was formed to create the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The reimagined major championship became the front-runner for the LPGA, which spurred the other major entities and corporate partners to follow in its example.

In 2015, the floundering LPGA Championship was reinvigorated through the partnership of the PGA of America, KPMG and LPGA, who joined forces to bring renewed life into one of the Tour’s longest-running majors. Through that alliance, the purse has steadily increased year to year, from $2.25 to $3.5 million in 2015 and up to $4.5 million ahead of the surprising announcement during the 2022 championship that the purse would double from $4.5 to $9 million.

Since the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship took the lead in pushing women’s golf to new heights, the other major championships have followed suit. In 2022, The Chevron Championship increased its purse to $5.1 million with a new title sponsor. That same season, the U.S. Women’s Open brought on a presenting sponsor to boost their championship purse to $10 million. And last year, the AIG Women’s Open increased its total prize money to $7.3 million and took the major championship to a historic venue like Muirfield for the very first time.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship hasn’t just been a leader in financial commitment, but the major has taken their championship to some of golf’s premier venues. In 2023, Baltusrol Golf Club will add its name to a prestigious list of courses to host the women’s major in recent years, joining the likes of Congressional Country Club, Atlanta Athletic Club and Aronimink Golf Club.

Beginning Thursday, Baltusrol’s Lower Course will host the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for the first time and just the third time in women’s major championship history, having twice before hosted the U.S. Women’s Open, most recently in 1981. The Lower Course underwent a major restoration in 2020, and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will give the world its first glimpse of what major golf at Baltusrol looks like since the project was completed at the hands of Gil Hanse.

Jin Young Ko headlines the field in New Jersey as No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, a position that, as of Monday, she’s held for 158 weeks, tying Lorena Ochoa’s record. Ko is already a two-time winner this season, seeking her third major championship and first KPMG Women’s PGA Championship title in Springfield, N.J.

Lilia Vu, winner of the first major of the year at The Chevron Championship, joins Ko as the only other two-time winner so far this season. The field also features seven other 2023 champions: Brooke Henderson, Ashleigh Buhai, Grace Kim, Hannah Green, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and last week’s winner and KPMG ambassador, Leona Maguire.

Nelly Korda, who earned her first major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club in 2021, makes a much-anticipated return to competition on Thursday. Korda has been sidelined from the Tour due to injury and last competed in May at the Cognizant Founders Cup where she missed the cut.

The field also features LPGA Tour rookie Rose Zhang, who won in her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open and will make her first major start as a pro on Thursday.

And if the name, Corebridge Financial PGA Team sounds familiar, it should. It was the team that PGA professional Michael Block was a part of when he grabbed the collective golf world’s attention with an impressive performance in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club last month. Keep an eye out for more fireworks from this team as their female counterparts will compete this week at Baltusrol.

In keeping with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship’s role as a trailblazer, they’ve also hosted the annual KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit in conjunction with the championship. Women from across the United States attend the annual summit to hear from speakers in both sport and industry about the keys to excelling in life and business. This year’s summit will feature Robin Arzon, the VIP of Fitness Programming and Head Instructor at Peloton in addition to Allyson Felix, the most decorated track and field athlete in Olympic history.

The championship has come to symbolize what it means to lead. It has inspired not just the players it hosts, but the women who attend its annual summit, as well as the tournaments across the globe who have been motivated to follow in the footsteps of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. This one-of-a-kind event will take yet another step forward as the championship provides the top-ranked players in women’s golf a chance to showcase their talents for the very first time at Baltusrol, one of the biggest stages in the game.

And what will the major have up their sleeve this year? Another mid-week announcement about a purse increase? Or the news that the championship is headed to yet another illustrious venue? Whatever happens at this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, for all that the major has done and continues to do for women’s golf, there will surely be plenty to celebrate.

The Major That Inspires Makes Its First Trip to Baltusrol Golf Club

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