LPGA Tour player set to win $1m windfall while on maternity leave

Pregnant LPGA Tour star Ryann O'Toole is set to bag a $1m windfall.

The American golfer is closing in on a huge payday despite having already brought her 2026 season to an early end as she prepares to welcome her first child.

O'Toole currently leads the LPGA Tour's Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a season-long competition that rewards the player who performs best on a series of strategically challenging holes.

And with the $1million prize within touching distance, the 39-year-old has opted to protect her advantage rather than risk losing ground by returning to competition while pregnant.

O'Toole finished her playing season at the FM Championship in August, having established herself at the top of the standings.

The competition measures players' average scores on designated holes throughout the campaign, with their two best scores at each challenge hole counting towards their overall average.

The player who finishes with the best average score relative to par claims the lucrative bonus.

O'Toole's closest challenger is world number two Jeeno Thitikul, who remains mathematically capable of catching the American but faces a daunting task to overhaul her lead.

The Thai golfer needs an extraordinary run of results in the remaining qualifying events to deny O'Toole the top prize.

The American has already completed the required qualifying rounds and believes sitting out the remainder of the season gives her the best chance of securing the money.

O'Toole told Golfweek: "Having enough qualifying rounds and sitting at the top I feel I should now just sit on the lead and hope no one catches it."

She added that although she wanted to continue playing, her advancing pregnancy made it increasingly difficult to predict how she would feel in the coming weeks.

The pregnancy has already presented physical challenges on the course, with O'Toole previously describing how changes to her body affected her power and distance.

However, the potential $1m bonus would provide a significant financial cushion as she prepares for motherhood.

O'Toole, who won the Women's Scottish Open in 2021, has earned approximately $4.7m in career prize money since joining the LPGA Tour in 2011.

She has also enjoyed a productive 2026 campaign, including a tie for seventh at the Chevron Championship, where she collected more than $213,000.

She is due to give birth in January.