LPGA TV Ratings Survive Nelly Korda’s Meltdown as ‘Nicest Person on Tour’ Comes to the Rescue

No Nelly Korda, no problem for the LPGA Tour. Undoubtedly, the 25-year-old from Florida is the Tour’s biggest draw thanks to a staggering six titles she bagged halfway through the season. Naturally, Korda missing the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was read as a bad omen for the TV ratings. However, a 34-year-old South Korean came to the rescue.

Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal tweeted that the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship received a year-on-year bump in Saturday and Sunday numbers. The final round viewership numbers spiked almost 31%, whereas the moving day figures almost doubled. 

Per Carperner, the final round was viewed by 867k people across multiple channels. Last year’s weather-delayed Sunday round garnered 658K viewers. On the other hand, the moving day coverage drew around 490K eyeballs last year. Comparably, this year, the figures stand at 818K. 

TV rating was thrown into uncertainty after a handful of bigwigs missed the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Nelly Korda, after staying just one shot back of first-round leader Lexi Thompson, carded a baffling 9-over 81 to post 6-over through two rounds. Korda, picking a string of bogeys, failed to book a weekend spot by one shot. 

Other than the two-time major winner, Danielle Kang, Allison Lee, and Megan Khang packed their bags early. On top of that, Lexi Thompson was falling down the leaderboard after a red-hot start on Thursday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

But none of that mattered as Amy Yang started playing the ‘longest 18 holes’ of her career in her 75th major start. The South Korean veteran considered hanging up her clubs just a few months ago. Then came the CME Group Tour Championship triumph in November.

The champagne shower from her colleagues, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, Hyo Joo Kim, and Hae Ran Ryu on the 18th green at the Sahalee Country Club showed what it meant not just for the champion but for her friends and well-wishers on the Tour. “I said she’s one of the or the nicest person on tour. And when she says stuff it’s genuine,” Ko said. The TV ratings evince fans were pulled in as well. The major victory also paved the way for a greater success story. 

Success tastes sweet for Amy Yang after Olympic qualification

Yang, 34, has scored a bigger victory with her first major triumph. The Sahalee glory catapulted her to the fifth spot in the Olympic Golf Rankings. Yang punched her ticket to Paris courtesy of that three-shot victory over Lilia Vu, Jin Young Ko, and Miyu Yamashita, earning 100 Rolex ranking points. This will be her second Olympics. Yang tied for fourth in Rio eight years ago.

“That [Olympics] was one of my biggest goals for this year. (I’ve been) missing cuts the past few tournaments, and I saw my world ranking went down, so I wasn’t sure if winning was enough to make the team. But I made it, so I’m very grateful for that,” the six-time LPGA Tour said in the post-round interview with Golf Channel. It was a wholesome moment, and now it is made extra sweet by the increased viewership numbers of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.