JERSEY CITY, NJ. The fanfare of sports today is a global phenomenon. However, the gap between men’s and women’s sports remains even with much progress attained over the last 25 years.
Male sports have long received the majority of attention. For male athletes that’s meant the lions’ share of attention, escalating salaries and whopping endorsement deals. Even though there has been the emergence of a few specific high profile female athletes the spectrum has been centered through a narrow lane centered upon male primacy.
Before cigarette television commercials were banned the tobacco company Virginia Slims ingeniously came forward with a powerful marketing campaign. In 1968 a promotional commercial was aired touting female independence from male dominance in all societal dimensions.
The tagline was simple and straightforward —
“You’ve come a long ways baby!”
When Title IX passed in 1972 in the United States a profound springboard was set in motion. Women’s athletics received a clear financial boost providing the needed foundation to propel forward from past years of total neglect.
Fast forward to more recent times and one now sees the fruits of that progression. Women are seen more frequently on television and in a range of sports. Basketball, soccer, tennis – even professional wrestling and extreme fighting are in the mixture.
But where is women’s professional golf?
Good question.
U.S. network television opportunities remain limited. Much of the exposure relegated solely through Golf Channel.
Internally, the Ladies Professional Golfers Association (LPGA) is in the midst in finalizing the hire of a new Commissioner. The most recent — Mollie Marcoux Samaan — served from 2021 to 2024. She left on January 9, 2025 and Liz Moore, the LPGA’s chief legal and technology officer, is serving as interim Commissioner.
Before being hired, Ms. Marcoux Samaan was the athletic director for Princeton University. The fit of the previous Commissioner was not in total sync with what the needs of the LPGA are now.
Grand Canyon gap in total $$ available
The LPGA came into existence in 1950 via thirteen pioneers who boldly laid the foundation. The total purses for 2025 are $131 million spread across 33 official events. As a point in comparison the PGA Tour’s total purse amount is just over $400 million with 39 tournaments.
One other key point – the five majors in women’s pro golf have a total purse of $47.8 million – representing over a third of the overall total. That leaves even less money for the rest of the LPGA events. In sum – men’s and women’s professional golf operate at a financial gap wider than the Grand Canyon.
The global pandemic saw a surge in people playing golf and the bump in women playing golf was considerable. According to a National Golf Foundation report posted June 1, 2023 — there are approximately 6.4 million female golfers, up from 5.6 million in 2019. The net gain of 800,000+ is far more than on the men’s side. And, most telling, the female golfer pool jumped 15% compared to a 2% lift among male golfers.
The abundance of junior developmental programs with a female focus has provided a significant boost. Girls represent 38% of all golfers under 18. When NGF started tracking golf participation in 1986, this proportion was just 14%.
Planting the seeds for future expansion in the women’s category is now the chief emphasis and that was the topic of conversation at last week’s press conference for the upcoming May LPGA event – the Mizuho Americas Open — to be played at Liberty National Golf Club (May 8-11) – a facility that overlooks the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.
On hand to welcome the assembled participants was 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champion and Mizuho Americas Brand Ambassador and Tournament Host — Michelle Wie West. The story of the 35-year-old Wie West is noteworthy since she started golf as a highly touted child prodigy and even competed in specific men’s pro golf events with limited success.
The link between current and future stars is the central dimension for the Mizuho Americas Open. 8 of the 10-world ranked female pro golfers will be in the field — with defending champion and world ranked number one player Nelly Korda headlighting the field.
In tandem with the professional is a junior component — 24 of the top juniors in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) ranking will also be competing simultaneously with the concurrent AJGA Invitational — a groundbreaking format that creates an unprecedented week of education, membership, and access to further inspire the next generation of LPGA Tour players.
Nonetheless, actual public attendance for a number of LPGA event has been sparse. Some of that is tied to perplexing schedule situations. In 2023 no less than four events were played in the small State of New Jersey.
There is also the reality that when women’s pro golf is scheduled in major markets like New York the sheer clutter from other sports teams and cultural events means a far less visible impact. In the Big Apple baseball teams like the Yankees and Mets are now playing; in the NBA side the Knicks are competing in the playoffs and the local NHL team Devils are doing similarly.
Mixed golf competition in the ’28 Summer Olympics
But a possible uptick for future enhanced awareness was also announced this week.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board approved the addition of an Olympic Golf Mixed-Team Event, which will debut at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) and complement the Men’s Individual Olympic Golf Competition and the Women’s Individual Olympic Golf Competition. All three Olympic Golf events will be contested at The Riviera Country Club in nearby Pacific Palisades.
The Mixed-Team Event will be contested as a 36-hole competition – 18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) for the first round, followed by 18 holes of four-ball (best ball) for the final round. There will be a maximum of one team per country, with teams comprised of one male and one female who are already qualified for the Men’s and Women’s Individual Olympic Golf Competitions.
The Mixed-Team Event will take place after the four-round Men’s Individual Olympic Golf Competition, and prior to the four-round Women’s Individual Olympic Golf Competition. The addition of the Mixed-Team Event marks the first Olympic Golf team competition since the 1904 Games.
Golf in the Olympics means a global exposure that will push countries which have had little past appetite for the sport to start competing.
Ultimately, women’s pro golf needs a standout superstar player who can raise the profile of the sport. Unfortunately, for the LPGA they don’t grow on trees. Ditto for the PGA Tour in having to go forward without the active presence of Tiger Woods. Korda, while clearly talented, has not been able to strike a commercial nerve with a broader audience outside the narrow women’s pro golf lane.
Wie West could have been that transcendent superstar but injuries and a plateauing of her talent caused her impact to wither and eventually had her retire from active competition in tandem with a desire to start a family with husband Jonnie West, son of former Los Angeles Laker great Jerry West.
Mizuho Americas Open connecting on different levels
The good news is that the pipeline for future players is now widening. At the Mizuho event there will be a DrivHer Summit in collaboration with philanthropic partner Girls, Inc. In addition to their commitment to Girls Inc., Mizuho is launching A Name Worth Knowing Award, which provides a Liberty National ACE Grant to a female AJGA golfer that is either from the Tri-State area or attending a school in the region
Additionally, the tournament plans to host the inaugural Breaking Barriers Summit, in collaboration with Front Office Sports. This women’s leadership conference will be headlined by Wie West and will take place on Thursday, May 8th with morning programming to feature top executives and athletes, followed by a golf clinic hosted by Wie West.
Can the trajectory for women’s professional golf sustain a pathway for a more meaningful future? Lasting success remains possible but far from a certainty. Barriers in golf still exist. Sponsorship dollars are prevalent in sports but so is the keen competition to secure them.
The hiring of the next LPGA Commissioner will be a key development. Mike Whan, the former Commissioner who left to become the USGA CEO was a 24/7 promoter of women’s professional golf and the LPGA will need an individual who can work tirelessly behind the scenes.
Securing a women’s pro golfer who can penetrate the clutter of different emerging sports stars is a challenge. Such individuals do not emerge simply through media hype.
The demonstration of superior skills on the golf course in concert with an intangible connection on a far deeper level with the broader consumer market is not something that happens easily or regularly.
Seeds are planted.
Is germination likely?
The jury remains out on the verdict.
As of now, women’s professional golf remains in the shadows. Yes. the darkest part of the night happens just before the sun rises.
More than anything — the future of women’s pro golf hinges on that happening.
