Impressed by Caitlin Clark, Nelly Korda Deciphers ‘The Only Way’ Women’s Golf Can Escape Slump

Women’s golf has come a long way indeed. Be it in terms of popularity or cracking better deals. Most importantly, the increased prize money. Most of the credit goes to the ninth and the soon-to-be out-of-office LPGA Commissioner, Millie Marcoux Samaan, but not all, per Brittany Lincicome. You see, 2024 was a milestone year for the Tour. All thanks to Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko.

With their stellar run, these top pros significantly boosted the visibility of the LPGA but many critics claimed the Tour failed to capitalize on this surge in popularity. While the outgoing Commissioner may have missed a few opportunities to leverage the Tour’s newfound fame, it was also acknowledged that she played a key role in helping the Tour rise. But this rise can be even more significant, says #1.

She recently appeared in the first episode of 5 Clubs. There Korda said, “But you know at the end of the day it’s all about performance you know if we’re performing and we’re dedicating that time to our sports training and everything that’s what’s going to bring more eyeballs to the game and um I think that’s the only way to keep people interested if those top players are performing well do you a full season and for me, it’s just to stay healthy and happy and you know to go out and do what I love I mean that’s the main goal and if I check all those off I mean I think that there’s a good chance I’m going to be playing well.”

Somewhat like what Caitlin Clark did for women’s basketball. She had all the attention because of how she excelled, and the same is needed for women’s golf. Korda played nine holes with Clark at the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican during the Pro-AM on November 13. After playing nine holes with Clark, Korda was impressed.

“(Caitlin is) so sweet, so nice. It was nice to get to spend some time with her. To get to spend some time with her and to see the influence that she has on people, bringing people out here, and to see how amazing of an influence she is for sports, (that) was really cool to see firsthand today,” said Nelly Korda.

Not getting as much fame as the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour has been facing another grave issue too: dropping rates of viewership, and Nelly Korda’s suggestion can actually fix that. However, there was a win in this regard that LPGA had last year.

Solheim Cup receives more viewership despite fiasco

Josh Carpenter of the

Sports Business Journal highlighted that the ratings for Sunday singles in the American victory over Europe at the Solheim Cup saw a significant increase compared to last year’s event in Spain, as well as substantial growth from the last time the matches were held on U.S. soil. The viewership of the final day had an average of 657,000 on NBC; this is the first it has happened since 2017. This is practically double the 277,000 viewers who tuned into Golf Channel in 2023. This was despite the fiasco of the opening round, where the stands were left empty because of logistical issues.

In 2021, when Team Europe took home the trophy, the Golf Channel had 588,000 viewers. The 2024 edition was been a win because despite the match being played on the second Sunday of NFL games, it managed to garner so many views. While these rates seem to be pretty good ones, they are not even close to what they used to be earlier.

In 2021, NBC broadcast the first two days of the Solheim Cup over the weekend, with the Monday finish airing on Golf Channel. The event attracted 634,000 viewers on Saturday and 878,000 on Sunday. But they have been analyzed to be still better than the PGA Tour Masters’s misery. If the best players come together and give exceptional shots, just like what Korda suggested, the surge will only keep rising.

What are your thoughts about the current situation of the LPGA Tour? Let us know in the comments section below!