LPGA Veteran Urges Nelly Korda to Act Against Poor Coverage Crisis & Majority of Fans Agree

A possible fifth straight win on the LPGA Tour, a major victory, and remaining as the current No.1 in the Rolex Rankings. These are but some of the accolades that Nelly Korda will aim to boast after the upcoming event. However, even those might not be enough for the golfer to help her golfing circuit with the coverage issues. Fortunately, it seems Stacy Lewis has some ideas that can help.

The 39-year-old was recently spotted in an interview ahead of the upcoming major, the Chevron Championship. Meanwhile, she made sure to express her thoughts regarding how to increase exposure for the women’s circuit and sport as a whole, all the while highlighting how Korda fits into the whole picture.

Stacy Lewis comes out candid on Nelly Korda’s role

The former No.1 in the Rankings, during the presser, was asked about the 25-year-old’s role in capitalizing on her fine play, while alluding to the issues related to broadcasting. “I think Nelly does have a responsibility,” answered the 39-year-old before adding how Nelly Korda needs to agree to the role while continuing with her exquisite performance; “It’s saying yes. Continuing to play great golf though is number 1. That’s what helps out tour the most… She also, I would say, to do as much extra stuff as you can for us,” while referring to how she should give the media more time every week.

Well, what Lewis stated is not without reason. Intriguingly, the women’s circuit has been, for a long time, receiving the short end of the stick when it comes to coverage and viewership. Unfortunately, even the recently ended Ford Championship, in which Nelly Korda saw herself emerge victorious, didn’t get the eyeballs it deserved since Golf Channel was focused on covering the Galleri Classic, the PGA Tour Champions event that saw Retief Goosen emerging triumphant.

Meanwhile, when the broadcasting network did go ahead to cover her historic win later on, it was anywhere but satisfying for the community. Out of the total 43 minutes that were broadcast live on Golf Channel, three commercial breaks and 2 NBC promos took up a majority of it. Truly a concerning picture for the LPGA Tour which, Lewis managed to point out accurately. Meanwhile, the community couldn’t help but agree to the 2-time major champ.

Netizens concur with Stacy Lewis’s take

“The Tour, I mean I think, We got to continue to push our TV partners to help us get more coverage,” said the 2013 Women’s British Open champ. What’s more, she also expressed disappointment in the poor reporting of the Sunday round of the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards. Besides, splitting the time with the broadcast from the Korn Ferry Tour didn’t help either. Interestingly, many fans also agreed with the golfer as they dished out comments such as “She is so right. More coverage is needed especially network TV for us on a budget…@LPGA”, and “Golf channel… NBC…. Big problem…” Besides, a follower even pointed out how switching the channels or streaming services due to poor broadcasting is never good; “Yeah, jumping around from one streaming service to another is not good for fans.” However, the cream of the crop came when a user expressed dissatisfaction at calling the networks the LPGA Tour’s partners, “Hate seeing Stacy refer to NBC/GolfChannel as a “partner” when their actions and antipathy toward the LPGA Tour suggest anything but partnership.”

Being a renowned person in a field, especially golf, does lead to one’s words being twisted at times. Moreover, there are also instances when the athlete has to keep quiet lest they get on someone’s wrong side. However, Lewis was anything but scared as she highlighted the disappointing problems in the LPGA Tour broadcasts while dishing out solutions for the same including changing tee times and playing earlier or later, among others. What’s more, she was also vocal in advising Nelly Korda, her LPGA Tour counterpart who is currently the best in the women’s circuit, about her role in the game. And, surprisingly enough, the followers couldn’t help but agree as well commenting, “I appreciate Stacy Lewis for her willingness to be a spokesman for the ladies of the LPGA and not just her brand. Was not afraid to say something knowing that there were people out there who would twist her words or that she would become a lightning rod for her honest opinion,” and “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Well, we can only wait and see if Nelly Korda does pay heed to her advice and goes on to do what she can to help with the dismal coverage and the subsequent ratings. What do you think she should do? Let us know in the comments below!