With the year coming to a close, it’s an appropriate time to analyze the happenings in golf across 2022. While the arrival of the LIV Golf Series certainly took the headline, several golfers made it to internet searches this year. However, among the more-famous male figures in the sport, no female pro made it to the top 10 of the most popular golfers in 2022.
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LPGA representation goes missing in popularity list
While golf associations have made constant efforts to place male and female tournaments on the same horizon, the audience has made a clear choice. The search results on the top 10 most searched golfers this year feature all but one female player.
However, that solitary player is ex-golfer, Paige Spiranac, who has reached staggering popularity levels largely due to her incredible social media reach. Indeed, Spiranac has more followers on the popular social media app Instagram than golf legend Tiger Woods, and more than any other golfer on the planet.
However, Woods edges out the rest of the competition comfortably amongst the most googled golfers. While the raw numbers remain unavailable, the 15-time major championship winner ranked the perfect score of 100 in the Indexed Search Interest. Interestingly, three LIV Golf players made it to the list, while the others (excluding Spiranac) were all PGA Tour members.
Why didn’t any LPGA player make the list?
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Ultimately, it paints a sad story for women golfers, who strive just as their male counterparts without getting their due recognition. In an effort to make women’s golf more intriguing, the LPGA Tour has significantly increased tournament purses and prize money.
For example, November’s CME Group Tour Championship rewarded the winner, Kiwi golfer Lydia Ko, with record-surpassing prize money of $2 million. While the figure is nowhere near the men’s arena, there have been constant talks of equal pay across all genders in the sport.
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However, viewership remains key. Women’s events have hardly ever been broadcasted on the same level as the men’s games. While a changing interest is starting to take shape, women entities on the top of popularity standings look like a far-fetched dream in the near future.
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