Why aren't the LPGA Tour Players getting the attention they deserve?

And I would say because she hasn't idone that is a reason that she's not thought of right away either.

Maybe we're looking at it from the wrong viewpoint in that we actually watch the LPGA, etc and have a little knowledge with these girls but I think the avg dude thinks of NG's calendars and PC's pink attire which shows a lot of skin every now and then before Wie enters into their equation

And I am again going to disagree with you. You are right that Natalie is well known. Very well known. Creamer not at the same level. But neither is as well known as Wie. The numbers dont like and she dominates in almost every one of them. There is a reason she is the highest paid LPGA player and its not even close.

Hanks, I see where you're coming from but Paula Creamer is generally considered one of the Top 5 players in the game. Also, they both have a major so i don't want to slight Natalie, but think you're generally right that most don't associate her with winning majors so much as calendar sales.

But you can't put Creamer into that same category. She is a top, top player and actually ranks ahead of Shin on the money list (8th).

They do?
 
I think everyone who follows golf knows how great Yani is. I watch all the tounaments that are televised, especially the LPGA and Nationwide, as they are often very exciting. I can't help but believe Yani will make a few covers.
 
And I am again going to disagree with you. You are right that Natalie is well known. Very well known. Creamer not at the same level. But neither is as well known as Wie. The numbers dont like and she dominates in almost every one of them. There is a reason she is the highest paid LPGA player and its not even close.



They do?

Yeah, Gulbis won the '07 Evian Master's and Creamer won the '10 US Open in a cool way. It was her first major, maybe even tournament, after returning from the wrist injury that sidelined her for months. She played lights out and on a great course in Oakmont. If you can't tell, she's become one of my favorites somehow. I don't see why some find here particularly attractive, I don't like her swing, but I love her competitive fire.
 
Yeah, Gulbis won the '07 Evian Master's and Creamer won the '10 US Open in a cool way. It was her first major, maybe even tournament, after returning from the wrist injury that sidelined her for months. She played lights out and on a great course in Oakmont. If you can't tell, she's become one of my favorites somehow. I don't see why some find here particularly attractive, I don't like her swing, but I love her competitive fire.

Whoops. The Evian Masters is not a major.
 
IMO, this is why they don't get the attention. They play the same length courses and hit the ball about the same as I do (granted they hit it tons better). I can hit 3-wood and 9-iron into a short par 4, I don't want to watch it on TV. I want to see a guy hit a 345 yard drive to a fariway that is 25 yards wide then hit a 240 yard 4-iron into the green for an eagle chance. That is something I can't do.

Same thing with the NBA and WNBA. The WNBA has some great players, but they play below the rim, just like I would. Nothing special. I want to watch the guys playing above the rim and do things I couldn't even dream of.

Not disagreeing with you, just sharing my thoughts here.

To me, the attraction to their game is that it's more like what I experience the sport as. Just way better (way, way better). They are the model of excellence in the game that I'm familiar with I guess. Part of that was definitely seeing it in person, but it's just more real to me.
 
LPGA Majors

Wegmans
Kraft Nabisco
Ricoh British
US Open
 
Whoops. The Evian Masters is not a major.

Oh, really? It sure sounds like one doesn't it! My bad. I feel like an idiot since I consider myself an LPGA fan. I've always thought it was because of the name and stature. :banghead:
 
I currently do not have cable (or satellite) at my house so unless it's on a major TV network that I can get via antenna or streaming on the web then I can't see it.

I think it's hard to grow your sport from a viewership perspective when you are not on one of the major networks.
 
Oh, really? It sure sounds like one doesn't it! My bad. I feel like an idiot since I consider myself an LPGA fan. I've always thought it was because of the name and stature. :banghead:

The LET I think still considers it one and the LPGA added it to the schedule a number of years ago, but it is not a major.
 
I think a big part of the problem is the fact that alot of the better players are Asian and don't speak English. Major networks want to mic the hot players on the weekend and what's the point if the viewer can't understand the player? No viewer interest= no revenue for the network, so they won't broadcast it. That leaves TGC to broadcast LPGA events, usually at some off the wall time when they don't have infomercials booked.

I agree with Ron on this one. I think not only gender but race has something to do with it. When KJ Choi won the Players, the next day I was very disappointed to find him way deep on the inside of the LA Times Sports Section. You would think with such a large Asian (specifically Korean) population in L.A. that perhaps he would have been further in front (maybe front cover?). I was thinking that if it was Phil, Tiger, Fowler, or many other names had won, the Times would probably have given the golfer the front cover. Maybe I'm wrong on that... was the Player's not big enough to make the front page? Or was KJ Choi not big enough?

Back to the women.... sex appeal DEFINITELY has something to do with it. Look what happened to women's tennis once it became more re-vamped, less Martina, more Anna Kournikova. I think if Yani was hot (and used the sex appeal) and didn't speak English well that she'd still get a lot more coverage on main stream TV and in the media.

I think men generally consume more sports, whether it be women's or men's sports and that's why it does make a big difference on how women look and are presented. It holds true for the men as well. For men who don't have a ton of personality, they may not be commercial big sellers, whereas someone like Fowler with a whole "look" will sell better, even if he's not dominant. I also think personality plays a big role and Rory has done a good job of presenting who he is (or wants to be seen as).

Oy - this post is all over the place. It's Monday. It's early. And I'm still not drinking caffeine so forgive me if this rambles...
 
Your post is very correct, Patty. Unfortunate, but correct.

I agree with Ron on this one. I think not only gender but race has something to do with it. When KJ Choi won the Players, the next day I was very disappointed to find him way deep on the inside of the LA Times Sports Section. You would think with such a large Asian (specifically Korean) population in L.A. that perhaps he would have been further in front (maybe front cover?). I was thinking that if it was Phil, Tiger, Fowler, or many other names had won, the Times would probably have given the golfer the front cover. Maybe I'm wrong on that... was the Player's not big enough to make the front page? Or was KJ Choi not big enough?

Back to the women.... sex appeal DEFINITELY has something to do with it. Look what happened to women's tennis once it became more re-vamped, less Martina, more Anna Kournikova. I think if Yani was hot (and used the sex appeal) and didn't speak English well that she'd still get a lot more coverage on main stream TV and in the media.

I think men generally consume more sports, whether it be women's or men's sports and that's why it does make a big difference on how women look and are presented. It holds true for the men as well. For men who don't have a ton of personality, they may not be commercial big sellers, whereas someone like Fowler with a whole "look" will sell better, even if he's not dominant. I also think personality plays a big role and Rory has done a good job of presenting who he is (or wants to be seen as).

Oy - this post is all over the place. It's Monday. It's early. And I'm still not drinking caffeine so forgive me if this rambles...
 
I completely disagree. Wie is in the commercials more, Sportscenter more and has teed it up with the men.
Lets not forget just a couple of years ago that she was to save the sport and be what Tiger Woods was.
She was the savior and it was on the cover of magazines and TV shows everywhere.
Most likely unfortunate, but when the average sports fan thinks LPGA, they think Wie.

To add to this: Since the commercial with Wie has been on TV in Canada, the most sold car for Kia has been the Soul in the past couple months. She seems to reasonate with female buyers in the 20-30 age bracket quite well (hearsay from a Kia sales manager for Western Canada. I don't personally have the numbers in front of me to back that up).
 
Wonder if Yani looked like Anna Rawson, would she get more attention? Probably. Women's sports in general, unfortunately, thrives on sex-appeal. But isn't watching a girl crush a drive 250+ yards down the center of a fairway sexy?!!
Just having everyone contribute to this thread is a great way to get people chatting-up the LPGA, especially with the US Women's Open next week :)
 
Wonder if Yani looked like Anna Rawson, would she get more attention? Probably. Women's sports in general, unfortunately, thrives on sex-appeal. But isn't watching a girl crush a drive 250+ yards down the center of a fairway sexy?!!
Just having everyone contribute to this thread is a great way to get people chatting-up the LPGA, especially with the US Women's Open next week :)

Sex appeal definatley doesn't hurt, but how long are you actually going to listen to an interview with someone who doesn't speak the same language as you? Right now, America is the biggest venue for LPGA events, so for the sake of the sport I think the Korean players should learn at least enough English to do an interview. That being said, with the dominance of Korean women in the sport, more events may end up in Asia and non- korean players may need to learn to speak some Korean.
 
I will watch women's golf when the PGA isn't on TV and prefer it over the Champion's Tour but I would watch a Nationwide event before an LPGA event. The biggest drawback with the LPGA is their lack of a deep schedule and the fact that the Golf Channel will often times air on tape delay.

I agree with some of the posters here - but you'd think the LPGA would be able to capitialize better with the strong group of young, quality players it has who also happen to look good while playing. It certain hurt the tour when Annika and than Lorena retired. Hopefully the LPGA figures it out a way to market their product better, so that the tour is around when my 7 year old daughter is ready to join!
 
All great comments by everyone and a lot of it makes total sense.

I am a hard core sports fan and the only women's sport I can watch is golf. The odd time I can watch curling mostly because I am Canadian and one of my friends was a world champion so I started to watch because of her. I think the main reason I watch women's golf is because I just love the sport and I do think some of the girls have some sex appeal. That being said I would watch LPGA before the Champions Tour. This weekend I watched more LPGA than I did PGA mostly because it was their major.

Overall women don't watch as many sports as men so I think women sports are at a disadvantage. The main stream sports fan will always gravitate towards men because most of them are men and the level the men play are superior(usually but its relative).

I think the only way for the women to start to have more coverage is to have more women supporting sports in general so the marketers will start to promote to them more.
 
Wonder if Yani looked like Anna Rawson, would she get more attention? Probably. Women's sports in general, unfortunately, thrives on sex-appeal. But isn't watching a girl crush a drive 250+ yards down the center of a fairway sexy?!!
Just having everyone contribute to this thread is a great way to get people chatting-up the LPGA, especially with the US Women's Open next week :)

To answer the first question ABSOLUTELY, if Yani looked like Anna the LPGA would garner much more interest without a doubt. To me watching a girl crush it center cut 250+ is pretty darn hawt but that's because I'm a huge golf fan.

As for the Women's US Open, I'll absolutely be watching regardless, but hopefully I'll be there in the flesh! I got to go last time it was here in Colorado, I followed Michelle Wie around for her practice round and then was on the 18th when Birdie played that great bunker shot. I'm pretty pumped for next week and the women's tour myself!
 
All great comments by everyone and a lot of it makes total sense.

I am a hard core sports fan and the only women's sport I can watch is golf. The odd time I can watch curling mostly because I am Canadian and one of my friends was a world champion so I started to watch because of her. I think the main reason I watch women's golf is because I just love the sport and I do think some of the girls have some sex appeal. That being said I would watch LPGA before the Champions Tour. This weekend I watched more LPGA than I did PGA mostly because it was their major.

Overall women don't watch as many sports as men so I think women sports are at a disadvantage. The main stream sports fan will always gravitate towards men because most of them are men and the level the men play are superior(usually but its relative).

I think the only way for the women to start to have more coverage is to have more women supporting sports in general so the marketers will start to promote to them more.

Wow I agree 100%. The only women's sporting events I will watch without question is Women's golf. I've never watched the WNBA... oh wait. The other women's sport I will watch is Beach Volleyball, but that's not only because they are mostly beautiful, but because I'm an AVID volleyball player and I enjoy the sport a lot. Come to think of it, I watch the women's volleyball and will barely watch the men's volleyball. I think the women's play is better than the men's from that sport and perspective.

Alright back on topic.
 
I would have watched the lpga over the travellers tourney this weekend. I don't have cable or satellite so I'm at the mercy of the major networks. If they would air it I'd watch. I feel like the LPGA is dying on the vine when they could be capitalizing on the PGA's tepid rosters lately. I'd love to see the Ladies get more prize money, tourneys, sponsors. If the PGA guys don't step it up, hopefully the gals will just take it directly from them.
 
I can only speak for myself but I got much love for the LPGA. I prefer to watch the ladies,
 
I agree with Ron on this one. I think not only gender but race has something to do with it. When KJ Choi won the Players, the next day I was very disappointed to find him way deep on the inside of the LA Times Sports Section. You would think with such a large Asian (specifically Korean) population in L.A. that perhaps he would have been further in front (maybe front cover?). I was thinking that if it was Phil, Tiger, Fowler, or many other names had won, the Times would probably have given the golfer the front cover. Maybe I'm wrong on that... was the Player's not big enough to make the front page? Or was KJ Choi not big enough?

Back to the women.... sex appeal DEFINITELY has something to do with it. Look what happened to women's tennis once it became more re-vamped, less Martina, more Anna Kournikova. I think if Yani was hot (and used the sex appeal) and didn't speak English well that she'd still get a lot more coverage on main stream TV and in the media.

I think men generally consume more sports, whether it be women's or men's sports and that's why it does make a big difference on how women look and are presented. It holds true for the men as well. For men who don't have a ton of personality, they may not be commercial big sellers, whereas someone like Fowler with a whole "look" will sell better, even if he's not dominant. I also think personality plays a big role and Rory has done a good job of presenting who he is (or wants to be seen as).

Oy - this post is all over the place. It's Monday. It's early. And I'm still not drinking caffeine so forgive me if this rambles...

I think this is accurate as well. Not saying it is right, just saying it is reality, IMO.
One more thing I would add is that for me it is the quality of coverage. The product TGC is putting out is brutal at times. To me this is a deal breaker for any sport, not just LPGA. So my question is, how does that get fixed? What if a new sponsor came in and pumped a TON of money into 1 of the majors, would that warrant better coverage by one of the major networks?
 
Its basically this way with all sports really. Doubt it will ever really change, the people that just tune in too watch a few times a year certainty are not watching the golf channel, and with no tiger etc. a lot of non golf people will defiantly not be watching any golf.
 
Let me answer your question with a question. Why aren't more women watching? It is the same issue as the WNBA, and that is that for the most part, men don't care. so I will ask again, why aren't more women watching and supporting womens athletics?
this is the question i ask all the women that i see in the clubhouse/proshop when they ask why we dont carry more womens equipment besides clothing
women love to "play" golf but alot only have a passing interest in the professional side of it
many use golf as more of a social game like badminton in the back yard... its fun to play and chat but who watches badminton on tv?
now i know quite a few single digit/scratch women golfers and they love watching LPGA/PGA but even the few i know, would rather watch the guys than the girls
its a tough road for the LPGA when their target audience isnt too enthusiastic about what happens on tour
Wonder if Yani looked like Anna Rawson, would she get more attention? Probably. Women's sports in general, unfortunately, thrives on sex-appeal. But isn't watching a girl crush a drive 250+ yards down the center of a fairway sexy?!!
Just having everyone contribute to this thread is a great way to get people chatting-up the LPGA, especially with the US Women's Open next week :)
i am by far and away a much bigger fan of the LPGA than any other tour and it doesnt necessarily thrive on sex appeal when women in general dont watch it

women need to break the stereo type and become fans... not just fans but sports fans

oh and this discussion can also learn a lesson from the biggest sport on the globe... futbol/soccer/footy
millions of soccer moms in america millions of kids playing the sport yet nobody watches soccer
if the kids and moms would just tune in it would actually compete with the nfl(yeah right)
if only women golfers would just tune in
sadness
 
I've always been a fan, but I'm probably in the minority.



i've only recently truly become a fan of the LPGA... I think in all honesty it was when Wie first jumped on the scene, and then the other great potential players of that time. I've stayed with it because the Women's US Open came to Denver and I got to go, and its coming back again next week and I plan on going again! We'll see...
 
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