Symetra Tour to feature largest purse ever in '16

The Symetra Tour’s 2016 Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic will feature the largest payout in tour history and push the year-long total purse to nearly $4 million.

The LPGA’s developmental circuit announced Wednesday that the May 5-8 event in Greenwood, S.C., has increased its purse from $200,000 to $250,000, with a winner’s paycheck of $37,500, the largest in tour history.

According to the tour, the year-long purse is expected to rise from $2.8 million this year to nearly $4 million next year largely because of a new purse subsidy program in which Symetra will match tournaments that increase their purses in 2016. The Symetra Tour's total purse in 2013 was only $1.62…