CME Group and LPGA Announce Two-Year Extension of CME Group Tour Championship with Increased $11 Million Purse and Record $4 Million First-Place Prize

Rhea-AI Summary

CME Group (CME) and LPGA Extend Sponsorship, Increase Prize Money to $11M: The LPGA and CME Group have extended the CME Group Tour Championship and Race to the CME Globe sponsorship through 2025. The $11 million purse includes a record $4 million first-place prize and $1 million for the runner-up. Every competitor who qualifies for the 60-golfer field will be awarded at least $55,000. CME Group's continued support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is also highlighted.

Positive

• Enhanced total purse of $11 million, including a record $4 million first-place prize
• Every competitor who qualifies for the 60-golfer field will be awarded at least $55,000
• Continued support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through the CME Group Cares Challenge - Score 1 for St. Jude

Negative

• None.

• Second-place award will increase to $1 million
• Sponsorship extension through 2025 will continue to include Race to the CME Globe and charity tie-in for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

NAPLES, Fla., Nov. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced an extension of the CME Group Tour Championship and the season-long Race to the CME Globe through 2025. This two-year title sponsorship agreement will bring exciting new opportunities for women's golf starting in 2024, with an enhanced total purse of $11 million, including a record $4 million first-place prize, and $1 million for the runner-up. Additionally, as part of an enhanced purse distribution formula, for the first time ever, every competitor who qualifies for the 60-golfer field will be awarded at least $55,000, increasing recognition for all players.

"As a long-standing supporter of women in business and sports, CME Group is pleased to continue our partnership with the LPGA to further elevate women's golf," said CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy. "Beginning next year, the CME Group Tour Championship's $11 million purse will be the highest on the LPGA Tour, and the $4 million first-place prize will be the largest single prize in women's sports. Both of these developments will make our event even more exciting for the players and spectators, while bringing more parity to the game."

"Additionally, we look forward to continuing our support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through the CME Group Cares Challenge - Score 1 for St. Jude," Duffy added.

"This partnership extension with CME Group is extremely important and underscores the growth and strength of the LPGA," said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. "CME Group has been pushing the LPGA forward at every step of our evolution since 2011 and with this extension they are once again helping take the LPGA, women's golf and women's sports to unprecedented heights. We are grateful for Terry Duffy and CME Group's continued commitment to advancing opportunities for girls and women, on and off the golf course. We are also inspired and proud of the company's support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital throughout the season and at the CME Group Tour Championship."

The CME Group Tour Championship has been a season-ending highlight on the LPGA Tour since CME Group first sponsored it in 2011. Recent champions of the event include 19-time LPGA champion and two-time CME Group Tour Championship winner Lydia Ko; back-to-back victories from Jin Young Ko; and major champion Lexi Thompson.

The Race to the CME Globe has also been an integral part of the LPGA Tour calendar since 2014. In the season-long points competition, LPGA Members accumulate points in every Official LPGA Tournament to gain entry into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. The 2023 Race to the CME Globe competition began with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Florida and concludes with the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla.

About CME Group
As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing.

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and, E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec and EBS are trademarks of BrokerTec Europe LTD and EBS Group LTD, respectively. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About the LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is the world's premier women's professional golf organization. Created in 1950 by 13 pioneering female Founders, the LPGA, whose members now represent over 60 countries, is the longest-standing professional women's sports organization. Through the LPGA Tour, the Epson Tour, a joint venture with the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Professionals, the LPGA provides female professionals the opportunity to pursue their dreams in the game of golf at the highest level. In addition to its professional tours and teaching accreditation programs, the LPGA features a fully integrated Foundation, which offers best-in-class programming for female golfers through its junior golf programming and LPGA Amateurs chapters, tournaments and membership. LPGA aims to use its unique platform to inspire, transform and advance opportunities for girls and women, on and off the golf course.

Follow the LPGA online at www.LPGA.com and on its mobile apps. Join the social conversation on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram and YouTube.

CME-G

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SOURCE CME Group

FAQ

What is the value of the first-place prize in the CME Group Tour Championship?

The first-place prize is a record $4 million.

What is the minimum prize for every competitor who qualifies for the 60-golfer field?

Every competitor will be awarded at least $55,000.

What charity is supported through the CME Group Cares Challenge?

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is supported through the CME Group Cares Challenge.