Ryann O’Toole is preparing to welcome her first child, a boy, early nexgt year. Even though she’s on maternity leave from the LPGA Tour, she’s about to earn $1 million—the single-biggest payday of her nearly 20-year career.
An interesting twist, to be sure.
The 39-year-old O’Toole set herself up so well in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge that she can relax at home in Scottsdale and know that unless there’s a crazy stroke of luck, the work she’s already done will propel her to that big payday.
“The Aon Risk Reward was not on my agenda or my goal,” O’Toole said. “I went to Q School last year and got my status back. I allowed things to play out. I was going to be going through IVF. I wanted to have the ability to have status and dictate my own future. I started the year trying to better my status and wanted to end the year not having Q School status. I wanted better. My brother got in that really bad accident in January, and us doing IVF in April. My focus was on all that stuff. Then to have this as a bonus and surprise has been really nice.”
The challenge is a season-long competition that has players deciding how best to strategically play some of the most challenging holes on tour. One hole is designated in each tournament, and a player’s two best scores on that hole count toward the standings. The winner has the best average score to par for the season, with the competition concluding at The Annika in mid-November. Players must compete in at least 40 rounds to be eligible.
While O’Toole didn’t start the season thinking about the Aon, she realized at the JM Eagle LA Championship at El Caballero Country Club in April that she was on to something, as she eagled and birdied the par-5, 464-yard 16th hole on the weekend. From then on, she was using AI to determine where she stood and what she needed for constant updates after tournaments.
O’Toole last played the FM Championship in Boston in August, getting in 45 rounds total, and went on maternity leave, which has allowed her to sit with the lead and hope no one can catch her. Her Aon score is -0.917 and she’s 22 under par on 24 holes played.
O’Toole, who grew up in Southern California and graduated from UCLA in 2009, has enjoyed having weekends off so she can watch the 7-0 Bruins football team. By 2011, she earned her tour card. The 121st-ranked golfer in the world, O’Toole scored her first win at the Scottish Women’s Open in 2021. She’s had ups and downs in her career but has won $4.7 million. This $1 million Aon paycheck would represent nearly 20 percent of her career earnings.
This year started with her brother, Brennan, surviving a serious off-road vehicle accident. She spent a lot of time with him and family members while they navigated his recovery in Arizona. At the Chevron Championship in Houston, she started fertility treatments and had a top-10 finish. She had a lot going on and through it all made nine cuts in 14 starts and had a pair of top-10s.
“To play this year and have better finishes and through all the distractions outside of golf, I was proud of my year,” O’Toole said. “I’m one of the oldest out there playing and competing. Some things I need to give myself a break on and other things I need to be better at and strive and grow.
“I feel the Aon Risk Reward [plays] to a lot of the longer hitters. If you look at the past winners, they’re all long balls. That’s something that I can say, ‘Look, I’m 39 and I can still contend with the younger girls and still have distance.’ This year, I worked my butt off in the offseason and I feel like I gained distance off the tee and with my fairway woods and I feel that played a huge role with a lot of these holes.”
Jennifer Kupcho won the Aon Risk Reward last year in thrilling fashion with a comeback at The Annika. Jeeno Thitikul and Angel Yin won the two previous years.
Ryann O'Toole hits a shot during the 2026 AIG Women's Open.
Kate McShane/R&A
O’Toole and her wife, Gina, already have their nursery set up. The furniture is in and they’ll add jungle wallpaper. She’s in her last trimester of pregnancy, and she’s not doing any chipping or putting. She’s doing light workouts. In September, she was in the emergency room for 36 hours with early contractions, far off her January due date. Since then, she’s been fine. She’s adjusting to life without a professional golfer’s strict routine.
“It's definitely been different,” said O’Toole. “A little bit of boredom. It's weird not having to go to the golf course and practice and work on the game or even train at the gym the same way. Now, my gym sessions have been more of like, ‘What can I manage? What does my body let me do?’ I haven't even wanted to go to the course.
“The body feels different and slower. I have no interest. I’m just enjoying the time off. It's been 16 years on tour, so I never really had big breaks. It’s been kind of nice.”
Now, she waits and watches the very slim chances of some of the LPGA’s stars have to catch her. World No. 2 Thitikul needs two double eagles to win. The scenarios are more improbable after that. Sei Young Kim needs two eagles and two double eagles, Gaby Lopez needs six eagles, Lottie Woad needs four eagles and a pair of double eagles and Haeran Ryu needs six eagles.
“I texted my accountant and said I might have this large lump sum of money coming, what are my options tax-wise?” O’Toole said. “I’m still trying to figure it out, where do I want to put it? Market? Stocks? Invest in a rental property? Something to allow it to grow bigger.”
Her caddie will get some of the money as well. As for a return to play, O’Toole said even her parents ask her what she’ll do. She said she doesn’t know.
“I just want to be able to have the opportunity, I don’t know what’s going to come,” O’Toole said. “Once the baby is born, I don’t know how I’m going to feel. How will I bounce back? What will my body do? What’s that journey going to be? I wanted to leave it open-ended to have the ability that I could step back into it, and I could have my status back and go out and compete and play. It’s still open-ended. I feel like I’d have a hard time walking away from competition and playing, but at the same time I don’t know how I’ll feel about traveling with a newborn or a 1-year-old.”
It could be another challenge to navigate.