‘[Work] Harder Than You Guys’: Female Prodigy Gives PGA Tour Star a Blunt Reminder as Calls for Equal Respect Grow

Jessica Korda made her first appearance on the Smylie Show and left a major impact on the fans. The 31-year-old has been heavily involved on the course even before the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational began. She has been casting interviews, bringing exclusive content, and having a good time at the Tiburón Golf Club.

However, her appearance on the Smylie Show a few hours ago has raised many questions in the golf community. The topic of conversation has been the lack of viewership for women’s golf as compared to men’s golf. “It’s about the respect,” stated Korda as she pointed out how the LPGA Tour events have seen dynamic financial growth with nearly all events getting a lot of endorsements. However, fans are not giving them the same respect as men’s golf events are receiving.

Now, another LPGA Tour pro has raised her concerns about the issue as she shared her views recently. The person in question is the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational leader Patty Tavatanakit. Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp had a splendid first round with a score of -14 going into the second day of the event.

However, during the event, Tavatanakit and Knapp had a round of quick questions with the journalists. That’s when they were asked why such crossover events are important for the game of golf. Tavatanakit replied, “Like we work hard. If anything, like no offense, like just as hard if not harder than you guys,” pointing at Knapp before the latter agreed to the statement.

The LPGA Tour pro continued, ” That’s why I feel like a lot of us, like we take golf as like a part of us and just to watch the guys play, they don’t really have that tie to like them as a person.” She further added, “So I feel like, yeah, like we pour our hearts into the sport and just want to be recognized more and I feel like this event, like Grant Thornton Invitational, is just a great way to expose our love to the game and our hard work and everything.” Elaborating on how important it is for her and her fellow LPGA Tour pros to get noticed in such events, Tavatanakit stated, “Like we’re so dedicated to our job and we just want to do good and be as good as them, too.”

There is no doubt that the LPGA Tour pros are giving it their all and not just their male counterparts. Hence, they deserve so much more respect than right now. But why have such questions been raised more often recently? Let’s see what has changed in the past few months.

The LPGA Tour gets a reality check

The 2024 season for the LPGA Tour was quite amazing with higher viewership and a few record sponsorships. Things would have stayed that way and gradually grown bigger over the years. However, the events at the 2024 Annika driven by Gainbridge at the Pelican gave the LPGA Tour a taste of reality. While the pro version of the tournament was still quite successful and got a lot of viewership, the Pro-Am event is what gained the most attention.

One major reason behind that was the involvement of Caitlin Clark, the WNBA star who has had a major influence in women’s sports ever since she turned pro. The young starlet was paired with Nelly Korda and Annika Sorenstam for the event, but it was the golf pros who were left in awe of Clark. In fact, the world no. 1 was also quoted saying “How amazing of an influence she is just for sports was really cool to see firsthand today.” This situation also raised some questions about how the LPGA Tour can attract this kind of attention without needing the assistance of such mega-star cross-sport events.

What do you think women’s golf can do to gain the same level of respect and viewership as men’s golf? Share your views in the comments section.