How does Lydia Ko’s record-breaking season earnings compare to other single-season winners in LPGA history?

Lydia Ko topped the LPGA money list for the 2022 season by clinching $2 million in first-place prize money at the CME Group Tour Championship. Her victory pushed her to the top of the money list this season with $4,364,403.

While Minjee Lee topped the list with $1.8 million by winning the US Open and the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, she was overtaken by Ko as the CME Group Tour Championship offered a record-breaking $2 million winner's check, the highest in the history of women's golf.

Meanwhile, World No. 3 Lydia Ko moved up to the fifth spot on the LPGA Tour career money list with $16,695,357, ahead of Lorena Ochoa.

Since 1950, the LPGA Tour has brought out the best talent in women's golf, with hundreds of women becoming millionaires strictly on the basis of their wins in LPGA events.

---

Top 10 players with the highest single-season earnings on the LPGA Tour

LPGA Tour prize money purses have escalated over the years. Though there is a gap between the LPGA and PGA Tour prize money payouts, a record-setting six players have crossed the $2 million mark this season on the LPGA, and 27 players won seven figures.

Take a look at the 10 biggest earners in a single season in LPGA history strictly in terms of prize money, not including any endorsements or sponsorships.

1. 2007 – Lorena Ochoa: $4,364,994

Considered the best Mexican golfer of all time, Lorena Ochoa tops the season earnings list in LPGA history. She earned $4,364,994 in the 2007 season to surpass the previous record of Sörenstam's of $2,863,904.

In 2007, she regained her World No. 1 rank by overcoming Sorenstam and winning her first major championship at the Women's British Open. She also won two consecutive LPGA Tour events, the CN Canadian Women's Open and the Safeway Classic the same year. Ochoa once again won the Vare Trophy and Player of the Year titles, rounding up her earnings to $4,364,994 in that season, a record intact till now.

2. 2022 – Lydia Ko: $4,364,403

Lydia Ko was close to breaking Ochoa's 15-year-old record this year but fell short of just $591 to become the second-most-earning player in a single season.

Lydia's sensational 2022 season was highlighted by multiple wins on the LPGA Tour. The 19-time LPGA Tour winner has won three of her events this season, namely the CME Group Tour Championship, BMW Ladies Championship, and Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. Ko went on to win Player of the Year and Vare Trophy titles and topped the money list in the 2022 season, falling short of Ochoa in the single-season earnings list in LPGA history.

Lydia was followed by Minjee Lee who took home $1.8 million by winning the US Open and Aon Risk Reward Challenge this year.

Following Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko, other golfers in the single-season money list include:

3. 2021 – Jin Young Ko: $3,502,161

4. 2011 – Yani Tseng: $2,921,713

5. 2002 – Annika Sorenstam: $2,863,904

6. 2015 – Lydia Ko: $2,800,802

7. 2019 – Jin Young Ko: $2,773,894

8. 2008 – Lorena Ochoa: $2,763,193

9. 2018 – Ariya Jutanugarn: $2,743,949

10. 2006 – Lorena Ochoa: $2,592,872