THE gulf in pay between male and female golfers is amongst the widest in professional sport according to a BBC Sport study into prize money, writes Michael McEwan.
Out of 35 sports that offer financial rewards, from a total of 56 looked at by the study, 25 pay equally and ten do not. Of those ten, golf has one of the biggest disparities, along with the likes of football and cricket.
Using the example of this year’s US Opens, the report found Michelle Wie pocketed £452,000 for winning - considerably less than the £1m earned by Martin Kaymer.
A closer look at the cheques banked by the money leaders on the PGA Tour and LPGA this year also backs up that example.
Rory McIlroy topped the PGA Tour money list this season with earnings of $8,280,096. Stacy Lewis, meanwhile, currently leads the LPGA money list but is over $5m behind in earnings.
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