LPGA Purses and Endorsements

[18majors]

 

The mega trend is clearly on LPGA's side:

 

 

[18majors]

 

This piece somehow slipped through the cracks, but it's important:

 

LPGA commish: 'Good things brewing' with mixed event, gambling

 

“I think it's a really interesting opportunity for people to, once again, get to know our players, follow our players, be engaged with our players,” she said. “They're always more interested in the content when you have something on the line, so we are, I think, going to be able to announce some really unique things we're going to be doing in the coming weeks.”

 

“I think everyone would love to see the men and women play together,” she said. “As you all know for years, people have played with different ideas. There's some hurdles and challenges. We are all for it, and I think there's conversations brewing with a number of entities to see how we can get that done. I think both from the men's side and the women's side, everybody thinks it would be great to put the best athletes in the world together at one time … and there's certainly some good things brewing on that.”

 

[18majors]

 

Thanks, Ron, please keep on plugging:

 

 

 

[KBong]

3 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Thanks, Ron, please keep on plugging:

 

 

 

It has nothing to do about equal play...blah...blah...blah.

It's about EYEBALLS.

More people are interested in a meaningless JUICE BOY vs. Brooksy 12 hole event that only went to 9 holes vs. caring about small

niche market LPGA...with an unmarketable pro vs. a GREAT lady of Korea battling for POY...nuff said.

 

Sirak shilling for attention.

[18majors]

4 minutes ago, KBong said:

Sirak shilling for attention.

 

Who's posing for attention all day and all night long?  We know!

[18majors]

 

Some good suggestions:

 

5 Ways the LPGA Can Supercharge its Product

 

1.    Find another TV network 
2.    Go all-in with streaming
3.    Tell the players' stories
4.    Play the final round Saturdays in the spring and summer
5.    End the season out West for more TV time

[18majors]

 

Food for thought:

 

Why College Golfers Can't Watch the LPGA

 

"No sure if you know this, but most of my women golfers that I have had here over the years don’t keep up with the LPGA. They don’t watch it or even know who many of the players are! I use YouTube videos of LPGA players to teach my girls but that is about it for their exposure to the LPGA players. Most students don’t have access to the Golf Channel and if they watch golf at all, it’s a men’s major."

 

"I think the LPGA needs to connect to college golf and I don’t mean just DI. Everyone seems to forget about DII and DIII. If the industry wants women to play golf and watch golf after college, they need to be marketed to heavily."

 

[KBong]

6 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Food for thought:

 

Why College Golfers Can't Watch the LPGA

 

"No sure if you know this, but most of my women golfers that I have had here over the years don’t keep up with the LPGA. They don’t watch it or even know who many of the players are! I use YouTube videos of LPGA players to teach my girls but that is about it for their exposure to the LPGA players. Most students don’t have access to the Golf Channel and if they watch golf at all, it’s a men’s major."

 

"I think the LPGA needs to connect to college golf and I don’t mean just DI. Everyone seems to forget about DII and DIII. If the industry wants women to play golf and watch golf after college, they need to be marketed to heavily."

 

This is no surprise....college players are too busy with school, golf, working out and other activities to watch or follow pro golf.

 

I've played golf with and have chatted with young junior competitive golfers at the range.

They basically gave me the impression they don't follow or watch too much pro golf.

 

Years ago, I was paired up with a provincial junior golfer...when I asked her who her fav golfer was...she said Stacy...when I asked who else...she didn't give me another name.

[Rapidcat]

6 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Food for thought:

 

Why College Golfers Can't Watch the LPGA

 

"No sure if you know this, but most of my women golfers that I have had here over the years don’t keep up with the LPGA. They don’t watch it or even know who many of the players are! I use YouTube videos of LPGA players to teach my girls but that is about it for their exposure to the LPGA players. Most students don’t have access to the Golf Channel and if they watch golf at all, it’s a men’s major."

 

"I think the LPGA needs to connect to college golf and I don’t mean just DI. Everyone seems to forget about DII and DIII. If the industry wants women to play golf and watch golf after college, they need to be marketed to heavily."

 

I found this very interesting, there's no doubt that the LPGA has a lot of work still to do and try some different ideas to grow further, broader and faster.

 

In your link there was another link to an article that I also found interesting: https://www.si.com/golf/news/5-ways-the-lpga-can-supercharge-its-product

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere but these make some sense. I see executing these type of initiatives as Mollie's real challenge. BHAG's (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).  Whilst #1 may be very difficult, all the others should be do-able, even straightforward, #3 should be introduced from 2022 season start.

 

NOV 18, 2021

5 Ways the LPGA Can Supercharge its Product
The quality of play on the women's tour is 'eye-poppingly high,' writes Morning Read's Mike Purkey, and all it needs is a few out-of-the-box changes to keep its momentum going.
MIKE PURKEY

 

"As the LPGA Tour completes its season this week, the quality of play has been eye-poppingly high and the talent pool is broad and deep. Now it needs to get in front of more people.

The LPGA has a new commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, the former athletic director at Princeton University. She takes over from Mike Whan, who brought the LPGA Tour out of dire financial straits and revived the brand. 

However, the job is not completely done and women’s golf has a number of needs, not the least of which is television exposure.

Here are some critical areas that require innovative thinking and can get the game to the next level:

 

1. Find another TV network 
Easier said than done, but worth trying. The PGA Tour and LPGA deal with Golf Channel/NBC announced in 2020 lasts until 2030. The PGA Tour apparently takes the vast majority of the revenue from that deal, according to The Athletic, and given the amount of prime live viewing time the women get, would, on its face, seem like a bad deal.

The LPGA Tour is being suffocated from within by Golf Channel. The network’s contracts with the PGA Tour — which includes the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour Champions, along with the European Tour, leave hardly any live weekend airtime for the women, even on an all-golf network.

In fact, the dramatic finish of last week’s Pelican Women’s Championship was not shown live on Golf Channel. Instead, that time was used by the season-ending Charles Schwab Championship on the PGA Tour Champions. It’s tough to believe that the seniors are higher on Golf Channel’s pecking order than the LPGA Tour, but there it is.

One of the largest revenue streams for the LPGA Tour is Korean television. If the women are to achieve greater identity in the U.S., they must find a new American TV home where they are treated as a top priority.

 

2. Go all-in with streaming
With cable cord-cutting on the rise and new streaming platforms popping up at a head-turning rate, this is a broadcast alternative that the LPGA can’t ignore. Streaming and a contract with a cable network is not an either/or. Doing both is not only realistic, it’s opportunistic. 

Surely, the sponsors of the five LPGA Tour major championships and the tour’s big advertisers could be persuaded to underwrite such a project.

 

3. Tell the players' stories
Traditional golf media has been decimated and the few remaining outlets don’t have the staff or resources to cover men’s golf adequately, which leaves women’s golf with next to nothing. It’s left to television to introduce us to the women of the LPGA Tour.

Every LPGA Tour telecast should have one three-minute feature on one of its players. It doesn’t have to be comprehensive. For example, tell viewers who she is, where she comes from, how she got into golf, what she likes to do away from the game, who her heroes are — in her voice.

In addition, there should be a one-minute golf instruction tip featuring a player in each telecast.

It’s true that the language barrier remains an issue but a number of Asian players are making admirable attempts to learn English and should be applauded for such. It’s not an insurmountable obstacle.

 

4. Play the final round Saturdays in the spring and summer
Instead of suffering through more decades worth of frustration of trying to compete with the men, the LPGA Tour would do well to give up that futile fight and find innovative ways to work around that issue. The LPGA shouldn’t force viewers to choose between watching men and women because they lose almost every time. However, if viewers have the opportunity to watch both live, it’s a winner across the board.

The best way to accomplish that is for the LPGA Tour to end its tournaments on Saturday through the spring and summer. In fact, where it’s possible, it would be ideal to schedule a Saturday finish by 4 p.m. Eastern Time to allow viewers the opportunity to watch the last two hours of the men’s telecast.

The LPGA Tour’s goal should be to own Saturdays during the heart of the season.

 

5. End the season out West for more TV time
There’s one sure way to avoid the problem of no live telecasts this time of year: go west. The LPGA Tour should finish its season in California and Hawaii for one prime-time reason: live television at night on the East Coast.

And for the argument that NCAA football and the NFL get in the way, either take your chances that hardcore golf viewers will watch anyway or just finish those last events on Fridays. There’s college football on Tuesday nights and the NFL on Thursday nights, so who says you can’t end a golf tournament on Friday? 

 

 

[KBong]

45 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

I found this very interesting, there's no doubt that the LPGA has a lot of work still to do and try some different ideas to grow further, broader and faster.

 

In your link there was another link to an article that I also found interesting: https://www.si.com/golf/news/5-ways-the-lpga-can-supercharge-its-product

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere but these make some sense. I see executing these type of initiatives as Mollie's real challenge. BHAG's (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).  Whilst #1 may be very difficult, all the others should be do-able, even straightforward, #3 should be introduced from 2022 season start.

 

NOV 18, 2021

5 Ways the LPGA Can Supercharge its Product
The quality of play on the women's tour is 'eye-poppingly high,' writes Morning Read's Mike Purkey, and all it needs is a few out-of-the-box changes to keep its momentum going.
MIKE PURKEY

 

"As the LPGA Tour completes its season this week, the quality of play has been eye-poppingly high and the talent pool is broad and deep. Now it needs to get in front of more people.

The LPGA has a new commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, the former athletic director at Princeton University. She takes over from Mike Whan, who brought the LPGA Tour out of dire financial straits and revived the brand. 

However, the job is not completely done and women’s golf has a number of needs, not the least of which is television exposure.

Here are some critical areas that require innovative thinking and can get the game to the next level:

 

1. Find another TV network 
Easier said than done, but worth trying. The PGA Tour and LPGA deal with Golf Channel/NBC announced in 2020 lasts until 2030. The PGA Tour apparently takes the vast majority of the revenue from that deal, according to The Athletic, and given the amount of prime live viewing time the women get, would, on its face, seem like a bad deal.

The LPGA Tour is being suffocated from within by Golf Channel. The network’s contracts with the PGA Tour — which includes the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour Champions, along with the European Tour, leave hardly any live weekend airtime for the women, even on an all-golf network.

In fact, the dramatic finish of last week’s Pelican Women’s Championship was not shown live on Golf Channel. Instead, that time was used by the season-ending Charles Schwab Championship on the PGA Tour Champions. It’s tough to believe that the seniors are higher on Golf Channel’s pecking order than the LPGA Tour, but there it is.

One of the largest revenue streams for the LPGA Tour is Korean television. If the women are to achieve greater identity in the U.S., they must find a new American TV home where they are treated as a top priority.

 

2. Go all-in with streaming
With cable cord-cutting on the rise and new streaming platforms popping up at a head-turning rate, this is a broadcast alternative that the LPGA can’t ignore. Streaming and a contract with a cable network is not an either/or. Doing both is not only realistic, it’s opportunistic. 

Surely, the sponsors of the five LPGA Tour major championships and the tour’s big advertisers could be persuaded to underwrite such a project.

 

3. Tell the players' stories
Traditional golf media has been decimated and the few remaining outlets don’t have the staff or resources to cover men’s golf adequately, which leaves women’s golf with next to nothing. It’s left to television to introduce us to the women of the LPGA Tour.

Every LPGA Tour telecast should have one three-minute feature on one of its players. It doesn’t have to be comprehensive. For example, tell viewers who she is, where she comes from, how she got into golf, what she likes to do away from the game, who her heroes are — in her voice.

In addition, there should be a one-minute golf instruction tip featuring a player in each telecast.

It’s true that the language barrier remains an issue but a number of Asian players are making admirable attempts to learn English and should be applauded for such. It’s not an insurmountable obstacle.

 

4. Play the final round Saturdays in the spring and summer
Instead of suffering through more decades worth of frustration of trying to compete with the men, the LPGA Tour would do well to give up that futile fight and find innovative ways to work around that issue. The LPGA shouldn’t force viewers to choose between watching men and women because they lose almost every time. However, if viewers have the opportunity to watch both live, it’s a winner across the board.

The best way to accomplish that is for the LPGA Tour to end its tournaments on Saturday through the spring and summer. In fact, where it’s possible, it would be ideal to schedule a Saturday finish by 4 p.m. Eastern Time to allow viewers the opportunity to watch the last two hours of the men’s telecast.

The LPGA Tour’s goal should be to own Saturdays during the heart of the season.

 

5. End the season out West for more TV time
There’s one sure way to avoid the problem of no live telecasts this time of year: go west. The LPGA Tour should finish its season in California and Hawaii for one prime-time reason: live television at night on the East Coast.

And for the argument that NCAA football and the NFL get in the way, either take your chances that hardcore golf viewers will watch anyway or just finish those last events on Fridays. There’s college football on Tuesday nights and the NFL on Thursday nights, so who says you can’t end a golf tournament on Friday? 

 

 

IMO....considering how few watch the LPGA....the LPGA is doing fine.

They are playing for some pretty good money...plenty of tournaments and more that enough TV coverage.

 

I wish everyone...especially the media should quit chirping & whining and comparing the LPGA to the PGA tour.

IMO....the LPGA will never be as popular as the PGA tour unless things change culturally....women's golf is more popular than men's golf in S. Korea and Japan.

IMO...I also blame women themselves why the LPGA isn't more popular....I think very few females are LPGA fangirls.

I think the majority fan base of the LPGA are middle aged and old guys....I'm in the latter demographic along with all the other old fanboys here too.

 

Do people really care to watch the LPGA live?

How many here actually sit around Thurs-Sun and watch the LPGA live for 3 hours each day....I think the number is really really really low....I also think few watch the PGA live too.

 

I got believe many people have better things to do during the day...including playing golf & other sports, doing chores & errands, working and hanging out with the family.

 

I think many sports fans are like myself who record all their sports and watch it later in FF...whether it be later in the evening or night...or days later.

I usually FF all my sports...and finish watching 3 hrs in 1 hr....FF though the noise and commercials.

Edited November 29, 2021 by KBong

[KBong]

3 minutes ago, KBong said:

I

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by KBong

[Rapidcat]

5 minutes ago, KBong said:

IMO....considering how few watch the LPGA....the LPGA is doing fine.

They are playing for some pretty good money...plenty of tournaments and more that enough TV coverage.

 

I wish everyone...especially the media should quit chirping & whining and comparing the LPGA to the PGA tour.

IMO....the LPGA will never be as popular as the PGA tour unless things change culturally....women's golf is more popular than men's golf in S. Korea and Japan.

IMO...I also blame women themselves why the LPGA isn't more popular....I think few females are LPGA fangirls.

I think the majority fan base of the LPGA is middle age and old guys....I'm in the latter demographic along with all the other fanboys here too.

 

Do people really care to watch the LPGA live?

How many here actually sit around Thurs-Sun and watch the LPGA live for 3 hours each day....I think the number is really really really low.

I got believe many people have better things to do during the day...including playing golf, other sports, chores, errands, work and hanging out with the family.

 

I think many sports fans are like myself who record all their sports and watch it later in FF...whether it be later in the evening or night...or days later.

I usually FF all my sports...and finish watching 3 hrs in 1 hr....FF though the noise and commercials.

All this makes sense to me.

 

I watch LPGA events when it suits me which can be live (especially doing Oz winter/mid year when live coverage starts late evening and I often combine that with a flurry of posts on here) but during other times is a stream replay. Almost always late evening/very early morning for me so that I can actually play golf or do other things.

[JungleJimbo]

1 hour ago, Rapidcat said:

2. Go all-in with streaming
With cable cord-cutting on the rise and new streaming platforms popping up at a head-turning rate, this is a broadcast alternative that the LPGA can’t ignore. Streaming and a contract with a cable network is not an either/or. Doing both is not only realistic, it’s opportunistic. 

Surely, the sponsors of the five LPGA Tour major championships and the tour’s big advertisers could be persuaded to underwrite such a project.

@Rapidcat Imagine if the LPGA was able to get an exclusive deal with (say) Youtube!  
 That's how i typically catch-up with LPGA highlights

For 2021, i've seen SkySportsUK has been live-streaming the LET/ ladies golf team events via Youtube  (UK VPN required)

[Rapidcat]

5 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

@Rapidcat Imagine if the LPGA was able to get an exclusive deal with (say) Youtube!  
 That's how i typically catch-up with LPGA highlights

For 2021, i've seen SkySportsUK has been live-streaming the LET/ ladies golf team events via Youtube  (UK VPN required)

Exactly, that's the type of thinking that can work.

 

The LPGA is 'ok' as it is now but it can be so much better, create a better commercial environment and provide a better product for consumption.

 

Doing all this better will reward the players more, too.

 

To me it just seems so do-able!

[18majors]

 

CNN answered the call, good coverage on Lydia Ko:

 

Lydia Ko: 'Sometimes results are so overrated,' says former world No. 1

Lydia Ko's journey back to the top

 

 

[KBong]

1 hour ago, 18majors said:

 

CNN answered the call, good coverage on Lydia Ko:

 

Lydia Ko: 'Sometimes results are so overrated,' says former world No. 1

Lydia Ko's journey back to the top

 

 

Lots of self talk nonsense from Lydia.

She must not be confident with her game.

WINS are all that MATTER....get back to your old LIBRARIAN Days and things will be fine.

 

FWIW....at the Rolex Awards dinner...Lydia mentioned she has a BF....I got to believe it's someone from the larger Korean Chaebol's....like Samsung, Hyundai, SK Group, Lotte, etc.

 

Koreans are very very competitive....Tina will want higher bragging rights over Dr. Grace Kang...just sayin.🤣

[airawan]

Ko is not the youngest to win a professional tournament. Thitikul won an LET event in 2017 when she was a few months younger than Ko.

[18majors]

1 hour ago, airawan said:

Ko is not the youngest to win a professional tournament. Thitikul won an LET event in 2017 when she was a few months younger than Ko.

 

 

Jeeno is the youngest to win an LET event.  But Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and maybe others have also won professional events in New Zealand and Canada when there're 14 years old.

 

One thing is sure, Lydia is the youngest to win an LPGA event!

 

Edit:

 

I double checked, Jeeno was younger than both Lydia and Brooke when she won 2017 Ladies European Thailand Championship at 14 years, 4 months and 9 days.

 

 

Edited November 30, 2021 by 18majors

[KBong]

4 minutes ago, 18majors said:

 

 

Jeeno is the youngest to win an LET event.  But Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and maybe others have also won professional events in New Zealand and Canada when there're 14 years old.

 

One thing is sure, Lydia is the youngest to win an LPGA event!

 

 

I believe Lydia and ECP were very close in age (14) when they both won a pro event in their respective countries....I'm too lazy to research it....I think Lydia may have edged out ECP by a few days or weeks???

[18majors]

 

6 minutes ago, KBong said:

I think Lydia may have edged out ECP by a few days or weeks???

 

 

I've to admit, you've an incredible memory.  I don't think it's a Chinese trait, just that you're unique.

 

"On 29 January 2012, Ko became the youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event by winning the Bing Lee/Samsung Women's NSW Open on the ALPG Tour.^[4] She was 14 at the time, and had placed second in the event the year before. The previous youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event was Japan's Ryo Ishikawa at age 15 years and 8 months.^[21][22] Her record as the youngest winner of a professional event was broken later in 2012 by 14-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson, who won the second event on that year's Canadian Women's Tour on 13 June.^[23][24]"

[KBong]

5 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

 

 

I've to admit, you've an incredible memory.  I don't think it's a Chinese trait, just that you're unique.

 

"On 29 January 2012, Ko became the youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event by winning the Bing Lee/Samsung Women's NSW Open on the ALPG Tour.^[4] She was 14 at the time, and had placed second in the event the year before. The previous youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event was Japan's Ryo Ishikawa at age 15 years and 8 months.^[21][22] Her record as the youngest winner of a professional event was broken later in 2012 by 14-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson, who won the second event on that year's Canadian Women's Tour on 13 June.^[23][24]"

Actually, my memory s*cks....I wish it was better (not the greatest even when I was younger too) and no surprise...it's getting worse with old age.

 

If I did my math/counting correctly....if one looks at the 2012 calendar, their birth dates on Wiki and assuming the dates are correct on the wins (I checked the June 13 CN Cdn women's tour event and it's correct).....Brooke beat Lydia by 3 days in age at 14 to win a pro event....2012 was a leap year.

[18majors]

 

This is by far the most comprehensive summary of what Mollie Marcoux Samaan has done and plans to do:

 

With new schedule, LPGA commish Mollie Marcoux Samaan already capitalizing on momentum

Edited December 1, 2021 by 18majors

[Rapidcat]

12 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

This is by far the most comprehensive summary of what Mollie Marcoux Samaan has done and plans to do:

 

With new schedule, LPGA commish Mollie Marcoux Samaan already capitalizing on momentum

Interesting read, doesn't give much more than her big picture and societal drivers to be leveraged but that's ok for what this article is and it makes sense eg:

There’s no secret that there has been burgeoning interest and support for the world’s premier women’s golf tour – and women’s sports in general. Marcoux Samaan calls it an “awakening” as, in her words, sponsors have realized, “Wow, this is an undervalued asset out in the world. We need to accentuate that value.”

“And our opportunity is to capitalize on that,” she said.

 

Next is to see the details of the initiatives and then execution v those as per the LPGA's stated “multi-tiered strategy”

 

One thing really jumped out at me, and it is nothing to do with Mollie per se but points to an LPGA attitude that needs to alter due to the text of hers displayed above and it's contrast to these comments:

“Sponsors are stepping up, showcasing women's golf at another level,” Korda said, “and I don't think we can be more grateful for them. … It's been so cool to see how much the sponsors love supporting us, and hopefully we give them a great show, as well.”

Added Lexi Thompson: “We're doing something right, and just very grateful to have the partnerships we do. To hear that kind of news is a big deal for the LPGA.”

 

Why are the players so subservient, grateful, fawning over their sponsors? This is not a charity, sponsors aren't doing a favour for the players, it is a commercial relationship that sponsors opt for because it provides their organisations with an acceptable return on their investment, sponsors aren't doing women's golf a favour because it's a lovely thing to do, about time, fair or whatever. 

 

Sure, be nice and respectful, but this vehicle now has societal momentum, "if you want the rewards of being part of this, sponsor X, you better get on board now, here's the justification.....".

 

Doesn't need to be arrogant, just real faith in the product supported by the improving societal/economic justification for sponsor, media and others participation. By all means. keep improving the product, it can get better. I see this as an important part of Mollie's job.

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Rapidcat

[18majors]

 

The prelude to 'Mixed Tournament':

 

 

[fredogolfer]

The only real "bump" that I see that truly benefits the LPGA long-term is that with the exception of the TOC the smallest purse is $1.4 million (Portland) and Portland may be going away soon. Everything else is $1.5 million or higher. The LPGA can make an argument to any new events that try coming on that $1.5 million is the minimum. There were years with multiple $1.3 million full field events. There may be 6-7 companies or in the future even 8-10 events annually that go over $3million but realistically the everyday events with smaller or regional companies aren't going to pony up $3million, have amazing player and caddie dining, free housing and a couple of private concerts. 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by fredogolfer

[KBong]

On 12/2/2021 at 4:58 PM, fredogolfer said:

the smallest purse is $1.4 million (Portland) and Portland may be going away soon.

 

but realistically the everyday events with smaller or regional companies aren't going to pony up $3million, 

 

 

You've heard something that Cambia might not be sponsoring in 2022?

On the 2022 sked....it's referred to as the Portland Classic with no sponsor named.

 

Don't forget that the sponsor's also put up money in addition to the purse for infrastructure build, etc.

[18majors]

 

Thanks, Golf Digest:

 

Mollie Marcoux Samaan's plans for the LPGA: ‘Getting the world to know our athletes is a big goal, and very achievable’

 

"We want to continue to see the pay equity gap shrink. We want to offer a schedule where the top 150 players in the world can earn a living that's commensurate with their talent. We do really well at the top. We need to continue to think about if you’re the 100th best player in the world, that’s a pretty amazing talent, what does that look like? We want to continue to reduce the gap between the LPGA and the PGA Tour at every level—the top, the middle, the bottom—with the ultimate goal of pay equity. We want to continue to focus on an environment where the players can reach peak performance, build a sustainable life and play as long as they are competitive and as long as they want to play. I see us as the model for women’s professional sports. We’ve been around for 71 years, we’ve had an enormous amount of success and there’s so much more growth to be had."

[fredogolfer]

On 12/3/2021 at 9:32 PM, KBong said:

You've heard something that Cambia might not be sponsoring in 2022?

On the 2022 sked....it's referred to as the Portland Classic with no sponsor named.

 

Don't forget that the sponsor's also put up money in addition to the purse for infrastructure build, etc.

Haven’t heard anything but it just seems there is more than one issue with them, that’s the only reason I mention them.

[18majors]

 

More good news on purses:

 

LPGA's third Florida event gets name, date and, reportedly, a home

 

"The purse is $1.5 million. Last week, the LPGA’s season opener at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club announced a purse bump from $1.2 million to $1.5 million, which moved next season’s total to $86 million, an LPGA record."

[golfortennis]

On 12/2/2021 at 2:16 AM, Rapidcat said:

Interesting read, doesn't give much more than her big picture and societal drivers to be leveraged but that's ok for what this article is and it makes sense eg:

There’s no secret that there has been burgeoning interest and support for the world’s premier women’s golf tour – and women’s sports in general. Marcoux Samaan calls it an “awakening” as, in her words, sponsors have realized, “Wow, this is an undervalued asset out in the world. We need to accentuate that value.”

“And our opportunity is to capitalize on that,” she said.

 

Next is to see the details of the initiatives and then execution v those as per the LPGA's stated “multi-tiered strategy”

 

One thing really jumped out at me, and it is nothing to do with Mollie per se but points to an LPGA attitude that needs to alter due to the text of hers displayed above and it's contrast to these comments:

“Sponsors are stepping up, showcasing women's golf at another level,” Korda said, “and I don't think we can be more grateful for them. … It's been so cool to see how much the sponsors love supporting us, and hopefully we give them a great show, as well.”

Added Lexi Thompson: “We're doing something right, and just very grateful to have the partnerships we do. To hear that kind of news is a big deal for the LPGA.”

 

Why are the players so subservient, grateful, fawning over their sponsors? This is not a charity, sponsors aren't doing a favour for the players, it is a commercial relationship that sponsors opt for because it provides their organisations with an acceptable return on their investment, sponsors aren't doing women's golf a favour because it's a lovely thing to do, about time, fair or whatever. 

 

Sure, be nice and respectful, but this vehicle now has societal momentum, "if you want the rewards of being part of this, sponsor X, you better get on board now, here's the justification.....".

 

Doesn't need to be arrogant, just real faith in the product supported by the improving societal/economic justification for sponsor, media and others participation. By all means. keep improving the product, it can get better. I see this as an important part of Mollie's job.

 

 

 

 

Why are they fawning?  Because while there is what you said, there are many other opportunities that do the same, and the company chose the LPGA over other options.  

 

They aren't such a good sponsorship that they can assume they bring more than other options.