The recent inclusion of WNBA star Caitlin Clark in an LPGA event has raised a lot of concerns. Clark paired up with the Annika 2024 champion Nelly Korda in the same tournament Pro-Am format. During the event, fans got to witness the kind of impact the Indiana Fever player had in the world of sports. She attracted a lot of attention from the media and increased the viewership ratings of the Pro-Am series beyond expectation.

This raised questions regarding the popularity of the LPGA and the star power likes of Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, and Lydia Ko as compared to their fellow athletes in the women’s basketball circuit. There was also a comparison drawn between LPGA and PGA as the former was criticized for just trying to imitate the latter instead of delivering a unique product to attract more fans.

The loss of Cognizant as the event sponsor of the Founders Cup earlier this year adds to the already existing issue. But recent developments might please the LPGA officials and fans of women’s golf. This news comes from the sponsors of this week’s season-ending event.

As shared by @JoshACarpenter, the CME Group has confirmed the extension of their partnership with the LPGA Tour. The Sports Business Journal writer tweeted, “As some LPGA sponsors have dropped off, CME is doubling down and has extended its deal with the tour through 2027” confirming that the deal has been extended for 2 more years.

LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan informed Sports Business Journal earlier this week that CME Group’s decision to extend the contract is “a sign of the tour’s stability.” She further mentioned, “We have tremendous partners that continue to support the LPGA over a long period of time, and this is just one of the examples of that,” sharing how the LPGA Tour and the CME Group have been in business since 2011.

Mollie also stated how the Tour has “new partners coming in, so the state of the LPGA is extremely strong right now.” While the financial terms were not revealed, another source had previously revealed that the CME Group pays $15 million annually to the LPGA. The final event of the 2024 season will have a purse of $11 million while the winner of the tournament is set to receive a record $4 million. This is the largest prize money ever awarded in the history of women’s golf.

Speaking about the belief the CME Group has on women’s golf, Mollie said, “The value that CME places on the LPGA talent and the players, it really pushes others to continue to see the value of women’s sports.”

This is definitely a positive sign for the LPGA Tour considering all the negativity it has experienced in recent times. But the extension of the partnership with the CME Group is not the only good news the Sports Business Journal writer has recently shared.

Another exciting announcement for the LPGA Tour

Minutes after the major CME Group announcement, @JoshACarpenter shared another tweet that might excite the LPGA players and fans. He said, “The LPGA also has a new title sponsor for the Portland Classic, which is the tour’s longest-running non-major and dates to 1972.  Locally based insurance company The Standard signing on..” Speaking about the despair the event has faced recently, Josh further added that the “Event had been without a sponsor the last two years.”

Overall, it has been an exciting day for women’s golf has the future of the LPGA Tour seems much brighter than it has been in recent times. Do you think the added security will help the LPGA Tour and players like Lydia Ko, Charley Hull, Rose Zhang, and Nelly Korda deliver higher-quality events? Share your views in the comments section.