Increasing LPGA popularity and how to solve problems if any

[Titleist_PT23]

> @Argonne69 said:

> Here's another angle on the (American) game. Is it possible that one or more of the current American players _could_ become a dominant player? Is dominance something a player simply has or doesn't have, or can it be influenced by coaching and practice? I have to believe that all the players are putting in long hours practicing. All of them have coaches, or teams. Are they practicing the wrong things? Are they putting in enough hours?

>

> All the top players are excellent ballstrikers. What seems to be missing is generally the consistent hot putter.

>

> Then there's the "killer instinct". We've seen a number of American players with the 54 hole lead, and it's usually frittered away. When Tiger was dominating he just didn't lose a lead on Sunday. Can the instinct be taught?

>

I'm not sure. Truth is you only know after the fact.

 

I don't believe Lexi's talent was noticable different than Jin Young Ko or Lucky6 at age 15. Lexi has more LPGA wins and same majors. All three may be comparable if adding KLPGA and LPGA. The Koreans just doing more in the big ones lately.

 

However, there was an article on Ko and her caddie saying she needed to add distance and improve short game. Seems like she did it quickly. Some may mention the Asian culture. As I said earlier, schooling for kids in Asia is definitely different. However, I've always thought top athletes were largely the same everywhere (hyper competitive, work your tail off). You could ask why Lexi can't learn to putt better? But people say the same thing about Rory.

 

Every now and then there is someone like Tiger that just blows everyone else away. But more often I think the separation at the top comes down to "who wants it more?"

 

Kerr and Lewis reached #1 and had far less of a starting base than others. So I'm sure another American can do it at some point.

[SheriffBooth]

> @Rory4Pres said:

> > @Argonne69 said:

> > > @Rory4Pres said:

> > > My 2 cents on increasing viewership...

> > > Typically, cbs broadcasts pga tour events on the weekends from 2-5 or 2-6pm. I'd say a great way to increase viewership of LPGA is to broadcast their events from 11am-2pm. I know this isn't ideal but on the other hand, I have to believe most pga golf viewers will likely watch the lpga if it's on beforehand. This isn't the end game for them but rather a way to gain more viewership.

> > >

> > >

> >

> > How do you broadcast a tournament from 11 am to 2 pm with 60 to 70 players in the field on the weekends? You send the leaders off first at 9 am? If they're playing in California, they tee off at 6 am?

> >

> > Do people not have DVRs?

>

> The primary focus is gaining viewership. I'd definitely start them off early (7:30-8am) where ever they are playing but for the leaders who tee off later, their coverage would have to switch over to the golf channel at 2pm. The primary focus is getting lpga on one of the 4 major networks on a regular basis, not sure a major. It's not ideal, I know, but it's better than what's currently happening.

 

Double teeing in the morning, similar to how the final round of this year's Masters went off, would be an interesting experiment. Not sure what it would do to in person attendance. The primary revenue and ratings questions though is if the LPGA tried this, would any network pick it up and air it?

 

I'm also not too quick to lend much credence to the low Fox ratings numbers. They've done a terrible job marketing the rights, and they aren't able to cross-promote on the Golf Channel. Also, as I said in the USWO thread, this year's tournament venue had very little going for it - while the extended coverage was nice, the course just did not appear very exciting on TV and the competition ended up as basically a chipping and putting contest.

[Argonne69]

Would anyone watch early coverage on Sunday? Aren't most golfers out on the links? I know I am. The casual fans are probably sleeping, in church, or enjoying brunch.

[legitimategolf]

Remember when Paige Spiranac--the hottest woman in the world--teed it up on the Ladies European Tour? Twice! I was shocked at the indifference. Here was everything American male golf fans could ask for from a ladies golf tournament and still they turned up their nose. She bombed out in both attempts and while I can't reasonably blame the lack of fan support for her failure, it certainly cannot have helped! I guess my point is that you can take literally the hottest woman in the world, put her in a golf tournament, and still that is no guarantee of eyeballs. Ultimately interest in any tournament lives and dies by the action on the field, does it not. People don't care for women's golf, end of thread.

[MelloYello]

Again, the trouble isn't giving viewers access. It's that they aren't really asking for it.

 

So if I were going to try and convince a friend to give an LPGA event a go I'd say something along the lines of, 'It's different. Try not to compare it with Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy. It's a different thing altogether.'

 

This would be my pitch:

 

_Jim Nantz sounds like an annoying pedo to you too, right? Okay. Well, there's nobody like that on the LPGA. The commentators are chill. And also, you know how it's kind of annoying that guys always talk about how impressive the men are but at the same time golf is like the wimpiest sport and there's inevitably a bunch of scrawny, chicken-legged guys along with at least one obese guy in contention, right? Okay, well the LPGA isn't like that._

 

_And you know how the people all yell at the men's tournaments and act all fanboy-ish around the big-name players? Okay, well, the fans at LPGA events are totally peripheral and fans are chill. And you know how it's kind of impressive that someone hits it's 330 but also kind of not when basically everyone under 30 who plays a lot of golf can hit it 300-yds now? Plus there's also that undeniable feeling that in reality someone who plays professionally should probably be ridiculously good at hitting it long anyway?_

 

_So what if I told you that there was a place where the commentators didn't sound creepy AF and the fans were chill and you didn't have to constantly hear about how impressive some 25-year old kid is for being 25? And what if this place featured a bunch of people who basically hit it the same distance as you--maybe less--and yet they still managed to shoot 65, on courses that were as hard as what you play? Would you not want to check that out for a minute? Oh and also some of them are kind of hot, too, so there's that._

 

 

But, you know, it's that last line that bothers people. At least, I think so.

 

It's totally a gender thing. How do I know? Because grandpas play on the Champions Tour and it's televised. And completely unknown and irrelevant guys play on the Web.com Tour and it get televised, too. I'm not trying to be mean, but if someone plays on either of those tours they definitely don't matter as much as the 150th ranked PGA Tour member and I know I dang sure don't care a lick about him, not even enough to know his name!

 

And yet the LPGA has to wait until after the Champions and Web.com Tours to get aired. Why is that?

 

The easy answer is that the LPGA isn't popular which is of course avoiding the question. Why isn't it more popular?

 

I hate to say it because it's going to get a little controversial, but I don't think most guys under 50 are comfortable watching and rooting for women doing anything athletic. I'm not throwing us guys under the bus or saying we're not supportive or anything like that. This is not about equal opportunity or anything like that. This is about guys not knowing how to feel about what they're seeing.

 

I don't know if women just end up appearing masculine through sports and maybe that's a turn-off or that men feel awkward because they inevitably end up looking at the players in a sexual way and they feel guilty?

 

I don't know what exactly it is, but I know that this is the honest-to-God issue. If there were league of men's golf where you had to be either under 5-ft or over 7-ft to play I swear to God that'd be airing on TV and probably bumping LPGA coverage even later than it presently is.

 

Not to drag the conversation there but when we compare the LPGA to sports where women do high-level stuff that gets some attention, say Olympic gymnastics or pro soccer, we see that the women in both of these are posing in SI Swimsuit issues and generally owning their celebrity and by extension their sex appeal.

 

Now, I don't think any guys are watching gymnastics. I don't even know where you'd go to find it TBH. But I could definitely imagine women's soccer getting some traction where the LPGA isn't--namely, with guys between 25 and 50 years of age. It's already flirted with it in the past. Soccer is increasing in popularity and several of the players have been able to promote themselves and by way of that, the sport. I'm thinking of Mia Hamm from back in the day along with Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and several others none of whom I ought to be able to name considering I don't care a lick about soccer.

 

I don't want to say that women's golf needs to be more risque, LOL, but I think we need to admit that there's a conflict for most men trying to watch it.

 

When you see Alex Morgan on the cover of a swimsuit mag or someone like Aly Raisman posing it faces that weird conflict directly where on the one hand they're obviously hot and as a guy you notice that immediately but at the same time they're athletes who you tell yourself ought to be taken seriously for that aspect of who they are.

 

So when women publicly acknowledge that they know they're hot it's like, _'oh, okay, cool, now I know you know that I know so now I don't feel like I'm being a creep for thinking you were hot.'_

 

I'm just saying that I think that's the hang-up for a lot of guys. They're just not sure what they're watching.

 

As far as competing with the PGA, you're never going to do that but if a guy decides he's growing weary of the PGA Tour for a 100 different reasons (kind of like I did) then that a guy who you might pull in for like a half-dozen LPGA events a year when the PGA isn't having a big event featuring Tiger, Rory and the other top names.

 

So, in a way, I think maybe Lexi's photoshoots and stuff like that have done some good, but the golf community is so weird. I remember there being a crap-ton of backlash when she did that. When you consider that a lot of country-clubs still feel like a time portal to the mid-80s I think it just shows that while something like soccer is blowing up, golf still remains in it's weird little cocoon.

 

IDK, that's just my perception.

[North Texas]

Mello, you are a very good poster but if I could be so bold as to make one suggestion that would be to embrace brevity.

 

http://copymatter.com/embracing-brevity/

[MelloYello]

> @"North Texas" said:

> Mello, you are a very good poster but if I could be so bold as to make one suggestion that would be to embrace brevity.

>

> http://copymatter.com/embracing-brevity/

 

Sorry, just felt like a delicate topic. I suspect it's probably not suitable for this site because it's more philosophical in nature and less about the actual sport or tour in question. Hopefully I didn't cross any boundaries. If so, oh well.

 

[MelloYello]

> @legitimategolf said:

> Remember when Paige Spiranac--the hottest woman in the world--teed it up on the Ladies European Tour? Twice! I was shocked at the indifference. Here was everything American male golf fans could ask for from a ladies golf tournament and still they turned up their nose. She bombed out in both attempts and while I can't reasonably blame the lack of fan support for her failure, it certainly cannot have helped! I guess my point is that you can take literally the hottest woman in the world, put her in a golf tournament, and still that is no guarantee of eyeballs. Ultimately interest in any tournament lives and dies by the action on the field, does it not. People don't care for women's golf, end of thread.

 

Is there any sport at all wherein the women are popular?

 

Seems to me that our species just doesn't find women's competition to be an attractive thing in general. Men don't care for it and the women don't support it either.

 

Is there any example of women's sports being popular?

[Argonne69]

> @MelloYello said:

> > @legitimategolf said:

> > Remember when Paige Spiranac--the hottest woman in the world--teed it up on the Ladies European Tour? Twice! I was shocked at the indifference. Here was everything American male golf fans could ask for from a ladies golf tournament and still they turned up their nose. She bombed out in both attempts and while I can't reasonably blame the lack of fan support for her failure, it certainly cannot have helped! I guess my point is that you can take literally the hottest woman in the world, put her in a golf tournament, and still that is no guarantee of eyeballs. Ultimately interest in any tournament lives and dies by the action on the field, does it not. People don't care for women's golf, end of thread.

>

> Is there any sport at all wherein the women are popular?

>

> Seems to me that our species just doesn't find women's competition to be an attractive thing in general. Men don't care for it and the women don't support it either.

>

> Is there any example of women's sports being popular?

 

Beach volleyball? Ice skating? Gymnastics? All niche sports in the grand scheme of sports, but I assume the viewership is greater than the men's counterpart.

 

[Argonne69]

I've been to 6 LPGA events, and 4 PGA events. I'll take the LPGA events hands down. For starters, you can actually see the action, even with the most popular players, e.g. Michelle and Lexi. I made the mistake of following Tiger around at the BMW at Cog Hill, and I think I saw him hit a handful of shots. The crowds were huge. On top of that you have the imbeciles screaming "Baba Booey" and "Mashed Potatoes". I personally want to punch each and ever one of those nitwits in the f-cking face.

 

Most LPGA players will spend time with the fans before and after the rounds. Autographs. Selfies. Heck, some will chat with you during the rounds. At the Volvik two years ago I strolled and chatted with Hee Young Park between one green and the next teebox. She probably had a dozen fans following her group.

 

I'm not saying that the PGA players don't appreciate the fans, but the LPGA players seem to go out of their way to interact with the fans.

[Argonne69]

> @MelloYello said:

>

> I'm just saying that I think that's the hang-up for a lot of guys. They're just not sure what they're watching.

 

At the end of the day, aren't we just watching good golf? I've broken par a number of times, but nearly half the LPGA players _**average**_ under par. Heck, a bad day for them is 74.

 

Do men go to minor league baseball games? Attend major league games for teams with significant losing records? Why? Entertainment. It may not be the pinnacle of the sport, but the players out there are certainly talented.

 

 

 

[WestTex]

> @Argonne69 said:

> I've been to 6 LPGA events, and 4 PGA events. I'll take the LPGA events hands down. For starters, you can actually see the action, even with the most popular players, e.g. Michelle and Lexi. I made the mistake of following Tiger around at the BMW at Cog Hill, and I think I saw him hit a handful of shots. The crowds were huge. On top of that you have the imbeciles screaming "Baba Booey" and "Mashed Potatoes". I personally want to punch each and ever one of those nitwits in the f-cking face.

>

> Most LPGA players will spend time with the fans before and after the rounds. Autographs. Selfies. Heck, some will chat with you during the rounds. At the Volvik two years ago I strolled and chatted with Hee Young Park between one green and the next teebox. She probably had a dozen fans following her group.

>

> I'm not saying that the PGA players don't appreciate the fans, but the LPGA players seem to go out of their way to interact with the fans.

 

Agree with a lot of this. I'll say I will never go to watch a round at the Masters even if I get a ticket. Practice round maybe, but not competitive round. Why? I look at the crowds on TV and think, those port-a-johns have to be a literal poo show. No thanks. I'll probably watch the Women's Amateur at Augusta someday. It's like being at an amusement park that's at 30% capacity. No line for the Tilt-o-Whirl? Sign me up!

[MelloYello]

> @Argonne69 said:

> Beach volleyball? Ice skating? Gymnastics? All niche sports in the grand scheme of sports, but I assume the viewership is greater than the men's counterpart.

>

 

Okay, but none of those are objectively popular sports to begin with, especially if we discount the Olympics. I've never even heard of Ice Skating and Gymnastics mentioned outside the context of the Olympics (at least pertaining to adults).

 

I can't think of many sports where the women even get aired on TV: softball, soccer, golf...the ones you mentioned above. It's not like the LPGA is really that far behind the others. In reality, golf may in fact be one of the more lucrative sporting outlets for women, IDK?

 

> @Argonne69 said:

> At the end of the day, aren't we just watching good golf?

 

You're right. I'm just trying to wrap my head around why guys can't get more into it. It seems that there is more support for has-beens and never-wills on the men's side than for some of the best women. Just seems like there's a hang-up there on the part of the core audience (young & middle-age guys).

[North Texas]

> @WestTex said:

> > @Argonne69 said:

> > I've been to 6 LPGA events, and 4 PGA events. I'll take the LPGA events hands down. For starters, you can actually see the action, even with the most popular players, e.g. Michelle and Lexi. I made the mistake of following Tiger around at the BMW at Cog Hill, and I think I saw him hit a handful of shots. The crowds were huge. On top of that you have the imbeciles screaming "Baba Booey" and "Mashed Potatoes". I personally want to punch each and ever one of those nitwits in the f-cking face.

> >

> > Most LPGA players will spend time with the fans before and after the rounds. Autographs. Selfies. Heck, some will chat with you during the rounds. At the Volvik two years ago I strolled and chatted with Hee Young Park between one green and the next teebox. She probably had a dozen fans following her group.

> >

> > I'm not saying that the PGA players don't appreciate the fans, but the LPGA players seem to go out of their way to interact with the fans.

>

> Agree with a lot of this. I'll say I will never go to watch a round at the Masters even if I get a ticket. Practice round maybe, but not competitive round. Why? I look at the crowds on TV and think, those port-a-johns have to be a literal poo show. No thanks. I'll probably watch the Women's Amateur at Augusta someday. It's like being at an amusement park that's at 30% capacity. No line for the Tilt-o-Whirl? Sign me up!

 

You really can't compare the Master's to any other tournament for a lot of reasons. For starters, there are no port-a-johns for patrons. Believe it or not, the port-a-johns are for players only and are strategically hidden and a volunteer actually guards them so patrons can't use them.

[WestTex]

Wait a minute...where do fans go then?

[North Texas]

> @WestTex said:

> Wait a minute...where do fans go then?

 

Sorry, I assumed everyone knew about the patron restroom facilities.

[Golf Dino]

> @"North Texas" said:

> > @WestTex said:

> > Wait a minute...where do fans go then?

>

> Sorry, I assumed everyone knew about the patron restroom facilities.

You're absolutely right about that. And with Augusta National, you can be assured that it (the restrooms) ARE NOT located just behind the Rhododendrons on the 7th tee box but are real facilities!

 

[Argonne69]

> @WestTex said:

> Wait a minute...where do fans go then?

 

Behind Butler Cabin? Ewww.

[Argonne69]

> @MelloYello said:

> > @Argonne69 said:

> > At the end of the day, aren't we just watching good golf?

>

> You're right. I'm just trying to wrap my head around why guys can't get more into it. It seems that there is more support for has-beens and never-wills on the men's side than for some of the best women. Just seems like there's a hang-up there on the part of the core audience (young & middle-age guys).

 

OK, stepping into dangerous territory here. Is it the _**significant other**_? Joking aside, how many men will admit that they'd be in deep sh-t, or at least have a lot of explaining to do, if their SO caught them watching, or Lord forbid suggesting that they'd like to attend, an LPGA tournament? Lol. "Honey, I swear I'm watching the women because I want to learn how to hit 75% of my fairways, and 80% of my greens!!!"

 

[Argonne69]

> @MelloYello said:

> > @Argonne69 said:

> > Beach volleyball? Ice skating? Gymnastics? All niche sports in the grand scheme of sports, but I assume the viewership is greater than the men's counterpart.

> >

>

> Okay, but none of those are objectively popular sports to begin with, especially if we discount the Olympics. I've never even heard of Ice Skating and Gymnastics mentioned outside the context of the Olympics (at least pertaining to adults).

>

> I can't think of many sports where the women even get aired on TV: softball, soccer, golf...the ones you mentioned above. It's not like the LPGA is really that far behind the others. In reality, golf may in fact be one of the more lucrative sporting outlets for women, IDK?

 

Surprisingly, the number of women who participate in gymnastics is roughly the same as the number of women who play golf, approximately 4.75 million. Ice skating and volleyball are much lower. Over 11 million women play tennis.

 

 

 

[Titleist_PT23]

> @Argonne69 said:

> > @MelloYello said:

> > > @Argonne69 said:

> > > Beach volleyball? Ice skating? Gymnastics? All niche sports in the grand scheme of sports, but I assume the viewership is greater than the men's counterpart.

> > >

> >

> > Okay, but none of those are objectively popular sports to begin with, especially if we discount the Olympics. I've never even heard of Ice Skating and Gymnastics mentioned outside the context of the Olympics (at least pertaining to adults).

> >

> > I can't think of many sports where the women even get aired on TV: softball, soccer, golf...the ones you mentioned above. It's not like the LPGA is really that far behind the others. In reality, golf may in fact be one of the more lucrative sporting outlets for women, IDK?

>

> Surprisingly, the number of women who participate in gymnastics is roughly the same as the number of women who play golf, approximately 4.75 million. Ice skating and volleyball are much lower. Over 11 million women play tennis.

>

Interesting on the number of women playing tennis vs golf. I think there was some mention of how women's tennis benefits from the men's game. But I was going to say that many of the same features in women's tennis exist vs women's golf. A more relatable game for the average person. Pretty stars are a draw. And for some reason it seems like the foreigners in tennis are not an issue?

[WestTex]

> @"North Texas" said:

> > @WestTex said:

> > Wait a minute...where do fans go then?

>

> Sorry, I assumed everyone knew about the patron restroom facilities.

 

I had no idea. Huh, learn something new every day! Thanks!

So those sound way better than port-a-johns..

Proposing a new thread re: The various facilities of the PGA and LPGA..? Yeah, no.

[ChronicSlicer]

> @Argonne69 said:

 

> OK, stepping into dangerous territory here. Is it the _**significant other**_? Joking aside, how many men will admit that they'd be in deep sh-t, or at least have a lot of explaining to do, if their SO caught them watching, or Lord forbid suggesting that they'd like to attend, an LPGA tournament? Lol. "Honey, I swear I'm watching the women because I want to learn how to hit 75% of my fairways, and 80% of my greens!!!"

>

 

This popped into my head as I was reading Mello`s post and I say yes for sure.

I'll go further into dangerous territory and say some men still don't respect women in general, be it a golfer,lawyer,doctor,CEO..etc.

[Titleist_PT23]

???

[WestTex]

> @ChronicSlicer said:

> > @Argonne69 said:

>

> > OK, stepping into dangerous territory here. Is it the _**significant other**_? Joking aside, how many men will admit that they'd be in deep sh-t, or at least have a lot of explaining to do, if their SO caught them watching, or Lord forbid suggesting that they'd like to attend, an LPGA tournament? Lol. "Honey, I swear I'm watching the women because I want to learn how to hit 75% of my fairways, and 80% of my greens!!!"

> >

>

> This popped into my head as I was reading Mello`s post and I say yes for sure.

> I'll go further into dangerous territory and say some men still don't respect women in general, be it a golfer,lawyer,doctor,CEO..etc.

 

I'm lucky in that my wife loves watching them too, thinks they're really cool, and is probably also ok with me thinking a few are pretty good looking, since she likely agrees. Hey, I don't judge her for eyeing up Gérard Butler or Keanu Reeves.

[North Texas]

> @WestTex said:

> > @"North Texas" said:

> > > @WestTex said:

> > > Wait a minute...where do fans go then?

> >

> > Sorry, I assumed everyone knew about the patron restroom facilities.

>

> I had no idea. Huh, learn something new every day! Thanks!

> So those sound way better than port-a-johns..

> Proposing a new thread re: The various facilities of the PGA and LPGA..? Yeah, no.

 

Way better is a huge understatement. Huge separate buildings that for the most part are strategically hidden from view and even have "attendants" who keep the line moving.

[Bingo1976]

This whole thread is predicated on the fact that LPGA is not popular, and is in decline. Which is kind of interesting - because it's not, at least globally....

"Over the course of the past seven years, the circuit’s schedule has grown from 23 to 33 tournaments, total prize purses have swelled to nearly US$70 million, and its overall broadcast audience has surged to around 500 million households worldwide. All told, LPGA revenues have soared by a staggering 88 per cent since 2012.

 

Commercially speaking, the LPGA has been on the rise for some time, but the rate at which it has been doing business and cutting deals has accelerated dramatically in recent months. Since the start of 2017, the tour has signed no fewer than 16 new corporate partnerships, bringing on board eight new tournament title sponsors, including three already announced for next year."

 

http://www.sportspromedia.com/from-the-magazine/lpga-tv-rights-discovery-jon-podany-interview

 

[Titleist_PT23]

> @Bingo1976 said:

> This whole thread is predicated on the fact that LPGA is not popular, and is in decline. Which is kind of interesting - because it's not, at least globally....

> "Over the course of the past seven years, the circuit’s schedule has grown from 23 to 33 tournaments, total prize purses have swelled to nearly US$70 million, and its overall broadcast audience has surged to around 500 million households worldwide. All told, LPGA revenues have soared by a staggering 88 per cent since 2012.

>

> Commercially speaking, the LPGA has been on the rise for some time, but the rate at which it has been doing business and cutting deals has accelerated dramatically in recent months. Since the start of 2017, the tour has signed no fewer than 16 new corporate partnerships, bringing on board eight new tournament title sponsors, including three already announced for next year."

>

> http://www.sportspromedia.com/from-the-magazine/lpga-tv-rights-discovery-jon-podany-interview

>

I would agree that globally the tour is doing fine. I think the tournament count you mention is a bit of an unfair comparison, as 2012 was the low point after a serious contraction. The tour was pushing 40 events around 2000 and is not yet at that point again, although it is more or less around the level of the mid-2000s before the crash. Either way, the money the ladies are playing for is up substantially. Dont know if it is up more than other sport salaries.

 

I guess what's happening in the US market is the question. I took the tournament decline as representing a decline in interest, but this may have been wrong (just got a better offer from elsewhere).

[legitimategolf]

I wonder if Mike Whan cares much about declining/nonexistent interest in the US. To a business guy like that, money is money, doesn't really matter where it comes from. In terms of bottom line, I have to believe he is doing a great job. (Judging by number of events per year and increases in total and individual purses.) He seems like a shrewd, objective guy who saw opportunity in Asia and went for it, rather than navel gazing and dwelling on losses from a particular sector. That sort of small-mindedness IMO is what got Carolyn Bivens fired (and shamed, and essentially blacklisted from golf). Not like Mike Whan created any of the opportunities, or golf-interest in Asia; they were there to begin with. Bivens is a kindred spirit of all the people in here trying to "fix" the LPGA; trying to solve a business problem via an emotional response.

 

You can say that Korean players dominate the LPGA. Well, Korean companies are also starting to dominate the golf tournament sponsorship game, including outside of Asia. ISPS is an Australian event with Japanese sponsor. Bank of Hope, Kia, ANA, Lotte, Hugel, Mediheal... these are all events on American soil, with Asian title sponsors. My point is here is that Korean players aren't just coming over and usurping trophies. Korean (and Asian) companies are backing the LPGA with real, considerable money, providing lots of tournament action for all of us to enjoy, and big purses for our favorite players to win. How about a little appreciation instead of all the nonstop scorn and suspicion, is all I am saying.

[legitimategolf]

> @Argonne69 said:

> I'm not saying that the PGA players don't appreciate the fans, but the LPGA players seem to go out of their way to interact with the fans.

 

I agree LPGA events are way more fun. At the same event, both So Yeon and In Gee looked me in the eye and smiled, and all I did was say "Go So Yeon!" and "Go In Gee!". In Gee even did a tiny little bow in her polite Korean style too. Very life-affirming experience for me. Later that day I attempted to encourage a very out of contention Suzann Pettersen and she gave me a WTF? look. Good times.