Is LPGA Getting Crushed Under Coverage Troubles Despite Massive Money Moves?

92003 spectators watched the Nebraska Cornhuskers last August. A record for in-person spectators. 12.3 M viewers turned on ESPN to watch the Iowa-LSU match. Massive numbers. Broadcasting records. The time for women in sports seems to be now. Women’s golf existing quietly outside the hype has been making quiet strides for the last few years. LPGA Tour’s purse is at an all-time high. Women’s majors have record-breaking purses. 

And, yet, the broadcasting numbers haven’t been outperforming. That’s despite Nelly Korda‘s touching history on Sunday by becoming the first American to win three consecutive titles since Nancy Lopez in 1978. That’s despite Rose Zhang setting multiple records last year. While the LPGA Tour has garnered more sponsorships in the past couple of years, the efforts have been undone by a lack of proper coverage.

A Golf Channel snub tells many things at once

The point is not to say that Nelly Korda would’ve driven the same number of viewers on NBC or Golf Channel. Golf, by all means, is still a niche sport, drawing fairly modest eyeballs compared to the NFL, NBA, and other mainstream sports. That’s also been a compelling argument why the demand for more in men’s professional golf is absurd. 

But the fact remains still, that fans wanted to watch Nelly Korda three-peat in Ford Championship. That fans wanted to witness the final few moments of the Solheim Cup last year. That the golf community wanted to watch the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open instead of the QBE Shootout, which could been easily broadcast in tape delay. 

Yet, the Golf Channel showed the PGA Tour Champions, instead of the Ford Championship. And, even when it did, Korda was almost done with her job on the course. Many fans and analysts rightly questioned the rationale behind giving preference to the Champions Tour when no big names were in contention for the Ford Championship, where a packed leaderboard saw five players tied for the third spot.

As for last year’s Solheim Cup, commercials came in the way of a seamless broadcast of the last few holes. For the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open, an unofficial PGA Tour event took precedence over one of the most prestigious events in women’s golf. Lisa Cornwell, a former Golf Channel analyst wrote on Twitter that the time to stop accepting “breadcrumbs” came a long ago. 

LPGA Tour has done its part

Deloitte in a recent study forecasted that women’s sports across the globe are slated to bring in $1.28B in revenue. The consistent increase in commercial revenue is the key driver of this growth. While Soccer and Basketball are the leaders in that pool, LPGA Tour events, WTA tournaments, and FIFA Women’s World Cup are projected to contribute $425M alone.  

Read More: Nelly Korda, Golf’s Unsung Hero Who Has Fallen on the Wrong End of the Coverage Battle

Per the same study, the LPGA Tour has doubled the number of active brands associated with the game, crossing the 1000 mark for the first time in June 2023. The purses do reflect that. This year alone the purse size is $120M.

Weeks back, JM Eagle announced they have further increased the purse size to $3.75 M for the Los Angeles event. The CME Group Tour Championship boasts a purse of $11 M, with $4M on offer for the winner, the same as the PGA Tour offers in its eight Signature events and LIV Golf offers for the individual champions at each event

But the year-on-year increase only tells half the picture of growth. Compared to 2021, the prize pool is 69% more. The increased interest in sponsoring women’s golf is also evinced by KPMG and AIG becoming title sponsors for two Majors. Ford, most recently, signed a one-year agreement with the LPGA Tour as the title sponsor of the Arizona Championship. Last year, some sponsors reported 400% ROI. 

So, it’s not that the LPGA Tour and of course, Women’s golf, in general, is a money pit. Rather, sponsors are increasingly sensing more interest, and even golf fans too, are eager to watch LPGA events. But, on that part, the elite female’s circuit is losing the game. 

Read More: Nelly Korda Sheds Truth Behind ‘Tiger Effect’ While Dispelling Peak Form Concerns Before Majors