AIG Women's Open Jumps to $10 Million and Expands TV Coverage for Its 50th Edition

Image: The R&A

The AIG Women’s Open is doing what a major championship is supposed to do: act expensive, act important, and make itself easier to actually watch.

On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, The R&A and AIG announced that this summer’s 50th edition of the championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes will carry a $10 million purse and expanded TV windows that add up to 34 hours of live coverage across four days.

That is not a cosmetic little bump. That is a real commitment.

According to the R&A announcement, the $10 million purse is the sixth consecutive increase for the championship. The broadcast side matters just as much: rounds one and two now get a new early live window from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. BST, followed by the main broadcast from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. BST. Weekend coverage runs 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. BST on both Saturday and Sunday.

In plain English: there is going to be a lot more AIG Women’s Open on actual television.

The headline number is the purse, but the coverage is the bigger deal

Yes, the $10 million matters.

It is another signal that one of the biggest events in women’s golf is still moving forward financially instead of politely standing still and asking for applause. The R&A said the purse has now more than tripled since 2018, when Georgia Hall won at Royal Lytham & St Annes and the total prize fund was $3.25 million.

That is a serious jump in less than a decade.

But the coverage expansion might be even more important for the long-term health of the event.

The R&A said the extra hours represent a 20% increase in live coverage compared to 2025 and will give the AIG Women’s Open more linear television broadcast hours in the UK and US than any other women’s golf championship.

That last part is the real flex.

Fans in the US are getting a cleaner watch window too

For American viewers, the 2026 championship will air across Golf Channel, USA Network, and NBC, according to the R&A. That matters because one of the easiest ways to undersell a major is to make it feel hard to find.

The event already had the venue, the history, and the major-championship status.

Now it gets a broader platform to match.

And it lands at a useful moment for the women’s game, which already has momentum this season. If you want the recent reminder that elite women’s golf does not need fake drama to matter, read our take on Nelly Korda’s Chevron statement.

The 50th edition should feel big, and now it will

This year’s championship runs from July 29 through August 2, 2026 at Royal Lytham & St Annes, one of the best major venues in the rota. A 50th edition should not feel like just another week on the calendar. Between the purse increase and the expanded broadcast plan, this one now has a better shot of feeling like the occasion it is supposed to be.

That does not guarantee a great leaderboard or a great Sunday.

It does guarantee the tournament is being presented like it matters.

That is a start.

Bottom line

The 2026 AIG Women’s Open is moving to a $10 million purse and 34 live broadcast hours, with expanded weekday coverage and major-network distribution in the United States.

Those are not side details. They are the kind of decisions that make a championship feel bigger in real time.

For the opinion side of this story, read why the AIG Women’s Open is finally acting like a major should and, for the current women’s-golf backdrop, our column on why Nelly Korda’s Chevron dominance was good for the sport.