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Is the lack of live streaming for Caitlin Clark's golf debut a missed opportunity for women's sports?

Golf fans are worried about something and it is not what you think! Recently, the news hit the golf town that WNBA player Caitlin Clark is going to be at the upcoming golf showdown and the fans were over the moon with the news. Previously, Clark had revealed that golf was her go-to sport as a child when she wasn’t playing soccer, softball, or basketball. “I would beg my dad to take me golfing,” she shared, so the golf world was excited for a good reason.

This is not the first time Clark is making waves in the golf world as she also participated in the John Deere Classic Pro-Am in 2023. However this time, there is a tiny problem, fans are worried about how will they catch the action live. Clark is set to take her golf skills to the next level at The Annika Driven by Gainbridge which is held at the Pelican Golf Club from November 14-17. She will also participate in the Pro-Am on November 13 and appear at the Leadership Summit alongside female golf legend Annika Sorenstam.

Notably, both Clark and the tournament have partnered with Gainbridge as their sponsor. While basketball remains her focus, Clark’s golf ventures are definitely something to be excited about. But again, fans are worried for a good reason and this tweet by Josh Carpenter only added to their worries. When they were constantly asking about where they could catch the action on his previous post, Carpenter replied with, “Since many have asked: No, there are no current plans to stream this pro-am”. 

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But one thing that golf fans will never do is give up, and indeed they haven’t. Many have taken to X to express their concerns in the hopes that maybe the officials will listen to them.

Netizens ask the tournament officials to ‘do something’

Golf fans are notorious for being adamant about things and it is not that easy to keep them happy; that was exactly what happened when Josh Carpenter released the news that there were no plans to stream pro-am.  This one fan said, “But we are watching so can someone do something to get this on TV?”. And while this may seem like an innocent request, airing something on TV is not that easy now is it?

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What’s your perspective on:

Is the lack of live streaming for Caitlin Clark's golf debut a missed opportunity for women's sports?

Have an interesting take?

But their excitement, on the other hand, is justifiable as the WNBA celebrity is excited herself. “I love golf, so the opportunity to play in the pro-am for a tournament with a legend like Annika Sorenstam’s name on it is so exciting,” Clark said in an interview. According to Caitlin Clark, she is excited to partner with Gainbridge, a leading supporter of women’s sports, at the upcoming LPGA event. “Gainbridge is a leader in supporting women’s sports, and that’s clear through their commitment to me, this event, Billie Jean King, and Parity Week,” Clark exclaimed.

Another fan said something that just proved how excited they are to see Clark playing golf. “At least a YouTube live. ppl are in withdrawal after a straight year she just vanished 😭😭😂 we would watch her play any sport, no cap”. Alas, a desperate time for her fans! This one fan came up with a hilarious solution and said, “We need to strap a go-pro to her caddy and get a stream going. 😂”. However, there is currently no news on who will be Clark’s caddie at the event so dear fans, you may wanna hold out on this one.

Many fans were also suggesting that this may be a good time to improve female golf viewership as it has been seeing some growth recently. One fan said, “You guys don’t like money and viewership?😂😂”, while another said, “I’m betting there’ll be a change in plans to have it televised.” And who knows maybe there will be!

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Women’s golf has been seeing a significant rise in viewership and attendance. Take the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach for example, there was a 118% increase in linear viewership on NBC and USA Network compared to 2022 which made it the most-watched edition since 2014. While TV viewership for the 2024 tournament has experienced a slight decline, this may be just the perfect time to improve the viewership. So are you excited to watch Caitlin Clark in the tournament? Let us know in the comment section below!

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