Lydia Ko Chases No. 1 Spot on LPGA Career Money List; Kim A-lim and Yoon Ina Share Lead After Day One of Lotte Championship

Lydia Ko (29) is chasing the top spot on the LPGA career money list at the Lotte Championship. The gap is $223,228. On the first day, Kim A-lim and Yoon I-na shared the lead at 7 under par.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Summary in Three Lines

Lydia Ko's LPGA career earnings stand at $22,360,465, second all-time, $223,228 behind No. 1 Annika Sorenstam.
If she collects the $450,000 Lotte Championship winner's prize, the math puts her $226,772 ahead of Sorenstam.
After the first round, Kim A-lim and Yoon I-na were shown sharing the lead at 7 under par (as of the LPGA leaderboard update on the morning of 2026.10.02).

"I'm still eager for the trophy more so than the prize money." Lydia Ko said this at a pre-tournament press conference, as reported by Aloha State Daily. It means the trophy is still what she wants more than the money. Still, a 25-year-old record is at stake in this week's prize money.

Sweden's Annika Sorenstam (55) has held the top spot on the LPGA career money list since 2001. The player who has come closest now is Lydia Ko. The stage is the Lotte Championship in Hawaii, held from October 1 to 4 (local time), an event Ko won in 2021 at 28 under par, 260 strokes.

Lotte Championship First Round: Kim A-lim and Yoon I-na Share Lead at 7 Under

Two Korean players took the top of the leaderboard on the first day. According to the official LPGA leaderboard, Kim A-lim (30) finished the first round at 7 under par. Yoon I-na, who had played 14 holes, was also shown at 7 under in a share of the lead (as of the LPGA leaderboard update on the morning of 2026.10.02). Kim A-lim is the 2024 winner of this tournament.

The first-day standings are not yet final. With Yoon I-na still having four holes to play, whether Kim A-lim holds the lead outright will not be settled until the first round ends. Jeeno Thitikul was tied for third at 5 under, and Ko Jin-young was tied for eighth at 4 under. Lydia Ko's first-round score could not be confirmed from the official leaderboard data.

Lydia Ko's Career Earnings Total $22.36 Million, About $220,000 Behind Sorenstam

Lydia Ko is a New Zealand national who was born in Seoul on April 24, 1997. She debuted on the LPGA in 2014 and won Rookie of the Year as the youngest ever, then became the youngest Player of the Year the following year. She has three major wins: the 2015 Evian, the 2016 ANA Inspiration and the 2024 AIG Women's Open. She entered the Hall of Fame with her gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Her official earnings are ALBA Net's career money list shows $22,360,465 (as of 2026.10.01). The gap to Sorenstam is $223,228. The gap to third-place Nelly Korda is only $30,693. This figure counts tour prize money alone and is different from net worth. Forbes estimated Lydia Ko's total 2024 income at $6.3 million.

Top 5 on the LPGA Career Money List (as of 2026.10.01)

Rank	Player	Career Earnings (USD)	Gap to No. 1 (USD)
1	Annika Sorenstam	22,583,693	-
2	Lydia Ko	22,360,465	223,228
3	Nelly Korda	22,329,772	253,921
4	Karrie Webb	20,293,617	2,290,076
5	Christie Kerr	20,179,848	2,403,845

The number that makes you look at this table again is the win count. Sorenstam has 72 wins on the LPGA, while Lydia Ko has 23. The wins differ by more than threefold, yet the earnings gap is only 1%. Dividing career earnings by the number of events entered (278 and 308), Sorenstam averages about $81,236 and Lydia Ko about $72,599.

Lotte Championship Winner's Prize Is $450,000; the Math Changes With a Tie for Second

The Lotte Championship official website says this year's total purse is $3,000,000 and the winner's prize is $450,000. If she wins, Lydia Ko would reach $22,810,465 and move $226,772 ahead of Sorenstam. The remaining gap of $223,228 is about 49.6% of the winner's prize.

Golf Digest's Ryan Herrington analyzed on September 29 that she could pass Sorenstam with a solo second place or better, or in a two-way tie for second. However, reports differ on the runner-up prize, giving $282,976 and $277,738. Prize money for tied positions is split according to the number of players tied.

The overtaking has not yet happened. The career money list is as of October 1 and the tournament records are as of the morning of October 2, so the timing differs. The outcome will be decided by the prize money actually paid out after the final round ends. What Lydia Ko named first was the trophy. "I'm still more eager for the trophy than the prize money." That is what she said at the pre-tournament press conference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much has Lydia Ko earned in her career?

According to ALBA Net's career money list, $22,360,465, second all-time (as of 2026.10.01, before Lotte Championship prize money is counted). The gap to No. 1 Sorenstam is $223,228.

Q. What is the winner's prize at the Lotte Championship?

Of the $3,000,000 total purse, the winner's prize is $450,000. If Lydia Ko wins, her career total would be $22,810,465, which on paper puts her at No. 1.

Q. How old is Lydia Ko?

She was born on April 24, 1997, and is 29 years old. She is a New Zealand national born in Seoul and debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2014.

Related Official Sites

Lotte Championship Official Website — tournament schedule and total purse information
LPGA Lotte Championship Official Leaderboard — live standings by round
LPGA Japan Official Site Career Money List — all-time career money rankings
LPGA Lydia Ko Official Profile — career results and win record

Featured image · Archival photo · Not an on-site photo of the current event in this article · Photo composite · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Keith Allison), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Keith Allison), CC BY-SA 2.0