The AIG Women's Open turns 50 in 2026, and the event, played this year at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, will be elevated with an increased prize fund and a more robust broadcast schedule.
The 2026 AIG Women's Open prize fund will be $10 million, marking a $250,000 increase over last year and a sixth-conseuctive year that the purse has been increased.
Putting the prize fund into context, Jenny Lee Smith won the inaugural title and the total prize fund was £500. In 2018, when Georgia Hall won at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, the prize fund was $3.25 million in the last year of the tournament prior to AIG coming on board as sponsor.
There will also be significantly more live coverage hours this year.
For the first two rounds, a second, early broadcast window will offer three additional live hours of coverage from 4-7 a.m. Eastern. The six-hour main window will start at 8 a.m. Eastern for the first two days.
On the weekend, the AIG Women’s Open broadcast will be a seven-hour window, starting at 7 a.m. Eastern.
The tournament will be available in the United States on Golf Channel, USA Network and NBC.
All told, there will be 34 hours of live coverage across four days, giving the AIG Women's Open more linear TV coverage than any other women's golf tournament.
