Equal prize money, lack of support.

[Dibby]

Your right, let’s keep (some people)moaning about inequality and pay, then when given the chance, blow it off...

What chance was given?

Imagine it wasn't golf but a different field, let's say medicine. Now imagine male consultants are paid £150k and female consultants £80k for the exact same job and conditions. The female consultants say this is unfair, so a hospital says, we will make this fair we will pay male and female junior doctors the same, the salary is £50k. In what world would a female consultant achieve anything by taking this job?

Now replace consultants with top 50 ranked players, and junior doctors with players ranked 500-1000.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

1, It was not on the most inaccessible week, go and check the LPGA and LET schedules. There were no other tournaments conflicting on either tour, infact the LET last event was January 1-13 and LPGA Jan17-20.
2. Dr Handa was the only sponsor to offer this format up. So doing it for your viewing pleasure in Europe was not going to happen. Also, last time I looked Sky had a record function on their boxes..
3. The payday was equivalent or more than that offered on the Ladies Scottish Open I’m lead to believe, hardly peanuts then.....Cheers Slab

I think you overlook far too easily the day and a half flying most will need to allow for each way to get there and return from. That’s effectively a week lost for what isn’t really a huge amount, so is it any wonder those on either ladies tours decided that the whole thing wasn’t really worth the possible return.
I love golf, but don’t watch anything from Oz, the 12 hr time difference is just a total block to anything other than England or Lions rugby, or Ashes cricket.
As I said before, try the format in Europe and then let’s judge or apportion blame and criticism

 

[Slab]

1, It was not on the most inaccessible week, go and check the LPGA and LET schedules. There were no other tournaments conflicting on either tour, infact the LET last event was January 1-13 and LPGA Jan17-20.
2. Dr Handa was the only sponsor to offer this format up. So doing it for your viewing pleasure in Europe was not going to happen. Also, last time I looked Sky had a record function on their boxes..
3. The payday was equivalent or more than that offered on the Ladies Scottish Open I’m lead to believe, hardly peanuts then.....Cheers Slab

1. But this wasn’t an LET event, it was a LPGA event and it was LPGA players getting a bit of grief for not attending. The LET players and schedule have no bearing on this. And the LPGA schedule means to play in the Vic Open any US based player will be away from home for a full month, that doesn’t happen at any other time of the season = the most inaccessible week
2. I applaud the sponsor for stepping up but that doesn’t detract from the point that a couple of continents are not easily able to watch live so viewing audience will be greatly reduced in these regions (my viewing pleasure was well catered for as it happens as it started at 6am for me)
3. The 2019 ladies Scottish open prize fund is 33% larger than the 2019 Vic Open (that’s half a million USD more) Making this easily the smallest LPGA pot of the season

 

[Grant85]

Of course they care about more prize money have you seen what LET players earn and then factor in costs of travel.

I also can't t work out if you're being purposely pedantic or dismissive or ladies deserving to earn more to continue to play and earn a living.

If they get more prize money it brings it closer to equality of pay that's quite simple.

As an example Ashun Wu ranked 50th in the Race to Dubai last year made £861,484 a nice princely sum that covers travel, living costs and still leaves plenty afterward to stash away for a decent lifestyle. The equivalent LET 5oth placed player Celine Herbin made £23,618. Now take out costs of travel and accommodation to the 18 tour events the tour held and Caddy costs what you think she is left with.

So yes they're wanting more money and something closer to equality why shouldn't they.

I'm not being dismissive at all. I'm just stating the reality of professional sport is that a tournament has to generate it's own revenue to pay prize money.

As I've said, the LET is clearly not sustainable and players who want to be professional golfers have to follow the money and try to play / qualify for events that have the bigger prize funds. This is true whether you are a male or female - for both female and male golfers from any country, this increasingly means being based in the US most of the year.

Personally don't believe there is really any barrier to Ladies golf being as watchable and commercial as mens golf. For me golf is about personalities and sporting drama - both available in equal measure from mens and ladies events. In time, they will become more equal but it should be done organically.

 

[Dasit]

I have said this before and will again now there is not enough room in the women's game to dilute the professionals into 2 major tours.


They need to just commit to the LPGA tour, and have all the best women in the world play on that.


Men's golf can support multiple different tours. There are far more men who play and watch the sport.

 

[Jacko_G]

The gap exists because the product is not as attractive. It's a little like saying badminton should get the same prize money as in tennis, they are both racquet sports, both participants work as hard. The problem is that one sport has people wanting to watch it, the other doesn't in sufficient numbers. That is life. Same as in men's and women's sport. Make the womens game attractive to watch and the money will come. You can force money out of one sport and into another but that is artificial and, imo, unfair on those players who are providing a spectacle that people want to watch.

Ultimate equality is all sexes playing the same sport, no separate teams, the best players winning. That doesn't exist, a few notable exceptions mainly horse related, so straight away there is no equality. It is an artificial argument.

I enjoy watching woman's golf. Why shouldn't they get the same exposure and prize fund?

 

[Aussie Swinger]

I think you overlook far too easily the day and a half flying most will need to allow for each way to get there and return from. That’s effectively a week lost for what isn’t really a huge amount, so is it any wonder those on either ladies tours decided that the whole thing wasn’t really worth the possible return.
I love golf, but don’t watch anything from Oz, the 12 hr time difference is just a total block to anything other than England or Lions rugby, or Ashes cricket.
As I said before, try the format in Europe and then let’s judge or apportion blame and criticism

Wow, just as well those people that discovered the new worlds actually took time to sail around the world. England and Spain would be busting at the seams. So last ladies tournament was jan 13 on LET and Jan 20th for LPGA respectively. Did not realise that Australia was now on the outer rings of Saturn.. Also try pressing the record button on your remote, there is a whole world out there if you look past Coronation street and the 6 weeks of lads from Cambridge and Eton talking in the pub about how they could have played ‘eggball’ for England, Scotland or Wales back in the day..😉😉😉maybe all golf should be played within 50 miles of Chidingfold on sea to stop all these sports stars having to travel out of Blighty..

 

[Jacko_G]

Can you clarify your point? Who needs to start somewhere? The LPGA players that snubbed this event? They can make more money by attending literally any other LPGA event on this years calendar except for this one. Why would they turn up, just because the pay is the same as one of the lowest paid men's events? What would that achieve?

It would achieve a platform for equality and recognition which is a great starting point for future joint events, and provides a benchmark for future sponsorship.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I enjoy watching woman's golf. Why shouldn't they get the same exposure and prize fund?

Supply and demand. Sponsors and TV companies want a return on their investment.

 

[Slab]

It would achieve a platform for equality and recognition which is a great starting point for future joint events, and provides a benchmark for future sponsorship.

I think it was a great platform, proof of concept done very well and the benchmark is there to now invite the LPGA's elite into an event of a more appropriate & deserving standing (not alongside journeyman pros and local tour players)

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Possibly because only Dr Handa is the only sponsor willing to try to take on this challenge in the first place. As I have said earlier, you need to show willing, no matter how small it starts. This generation of lady golfer will not get pay parity in their golfing lifetimes. But by making a start, however small, they may just be the pioneers for future players. To put one head in the sand because of no perceived immediate gain will have the sponsors saying ‘what’s the point in flogging a dead horse if no one can see outside their own bubble on the world of golf?’

Not exactly - the ET has had mix comps with the golf sixes having Male and female competing actually against each other

1, It was not on the most inaccessible week, go and check the LPGA and LET schedules. There were no other tournaments conflicting on either tour, infact the LET last event was January 1-13 and LPGA Jan17-20.
2. Dr Handa was the only sponsor to offer this format up. So doing it for your viewing pleasure in Europe was not going to happen. Also, last time I looked Sky had a record function on their boxes..
3. The payday was equivalent or more than that offered on the Ladies Scottish Open I’m lead to believe, hardly peanuts then.....Cheers Slab

The LET is irrelevant as it was not an LET event so only LPGA members or sponsers invites could play

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I enjoy watching woman's golf. Why shouldn't they get the same exposure and prize fund?

Simply put, the product is not as good, not enough people want to watch it. You do, that's great, but there are not enough in your boat.

 

[Dan2501]

https://nolayingup.com/2018/03/26/nlu-podcast-episode-128-mike/

This is a fascinating listen if you're interested in how the LPGA is run, how Mike Whan was able to turn around their business model and attract new sponsors. The LET desperately need someone with a vision like Mike's and an ability to attract sponsors, so sad how many tournaments get canned because of lack of sponsorship.

 

[Dibby]

It would achieve a platform for equality and recognition which is a great starting point for future joint events, and provides a benchmark for future sponsorship.

How would it do that?

People keep saying this event was equal pay, but then expecting top women players to turn up when the fact is the prize money didn't attract the top male players. What is equal about expecting the top women to play for the same fund that the 500-1000th ranked men play for? Why would we expect this to attract the top female players?

 

[Parsaregood]

It's not equal for loads of reasons. The vast majority who play golf are men and have little to no interest in women's golf, the product isnt even close to the mens and id rather watch the mens euro pro tour than the LET in all honesty. Sponsors obviously know the viewing figures, and the reach of every tournament, it isn't there with women's golf, sponsors obviously won't be willing to put in the same money for less exposure, who would ?
I think the vast majority of male golfers have little interest in the ladies game, you have to get more women involved and girls at clubs to make it more popular, increase viewing figures for it therefore increase value for sponsors. Trying to get mens golf to subsidise the failing women's tour is not the way forward. You have to get more women involved at the grass roots level, end of. Men are obviously a lot more interested in men's golf.

 

[cookelad]

Interesting that in the video, talking about the womens football, the fella referenced tennis and the fact that the pay was equal as the mens game had become boring due to just being about power serving, while the womens game was still about rallies. Seems a little familiar really perhaps golf is, once again/as always, behind the curve.

 

[Parsaregood]

Interesting that in the video, talking about the womens football, the fella referenced tennis and the fact that the pay was equal as the mens game had become boring due to just being about power serving, while the womens game was still about rallies. Seems a little familiar really perhaps golf is, once again/as always, behind the curve.

Perhaps and this is my prediction, ladies golf will never be as popular as mens golf. It is not behind the curve, it's just that golf is simply not very attractive to young girls and most female golfers tend to be even older than male golfers. Of all the golfers in the world what percentage do you think are women. I'd be pretty correct in assuming that ladies in tennis are a much higher percentage of overall total players

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Wow, just as well those people that discovered the new worlds actually took time to sail around the world. England and Spain would be busting at the seams. So last ladies tournament was jan 13 on LET and Jan 20th for LPGA respectively. Did not realise that Australia was now on the outer rings of Saturn.. Also try pressing the record button on your remote, there is a whole world out there if you look past Coronation street and the 6 weeks of lads from Cambridge and Eton talking in the pub about how they could have played ‘eggball’ for England, Scotland or Wales back in the day..😉😉😉maybe all golf should be played within 50 miles of Chidingfold on sea to stop all these sports stars having to travel out of Blighty..

Sail around the World they did, but it wasn’t for 4 days of golf with not a lot of recompense.
As far as Australian sports go, your A league football is rubbish, your rugby union side currently poor, your cricketers cheat and you play another version of "footy" that only you play.
I love watching womens golf, and have been to quite a few events here in "Blilghty", but I prefer to watch sport live whether in the flesh or on the tv and I don't have Sky.
As I said earlier, bring the format over to Europe or even the US and then judge it. What I don't understand though is why the Asian tour doesn't take this on in Oz, at least they are much closer and most ot the top women golfers are from that region.
G'day to you