Equality in golf...

[Threeoffthetee]

There have been a few posts and much debate recently about women playing golf. Opinions are divided and it is not my intention here to discuss individual's comments but to make one (relatively) impartial observation.

According to the PGA and LPGA stats as of today (respectively):

Pos. 1: Rory McIlroy - 2 events played - Earnings $2,392,000
Pos. 5: Phil Mickleson - 6 events played - Earnings $1,845,431

Pos 1: Yani Tseng - 4 events played - Earnings $537,186.00
Pos 5: Jenny Shin - 4 events played - Earnings $176,907.00

I realise that there is inequality in nearly all sports but are talking nearly a 10x difference here.

It might be easier to change attitudes to women's golf as grass roots, if more were done by the powers that be to put their houses in order.

 

[fundy]

Simple supply and demand argument im afraid, nothing wrong with the differences imo. Far more people want to watch mens golf, far more marketable product which leads to far higher sponsorship revenue and television revenue which is ultimately what pays the prize pools

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Simple supply and demand argument im afraid, nothing wrong with the differences imo. Far more people want to watch mens golf, far more marketable product which leads to far higher sponsorship revenue and television revenue which is ultimately what pays the prize pools

Think Fundy has hit the nail on the head. Enough sponsorship to generate decent prize money for the top 10 but it isn't enough to filter down through the filed like a USPGA event. A lack of mainstream exposure too doesn't help as the womens game simply doesn't attract viewer numbers or TV advertising revenue

 

[FairwayDodger]

Yeah, commercial realities in the pro game I'm afraid.

Although that's a complicated situation - is there as much demand for ladies golf on TV as mens? Probably not. Do current coverage levels of the female game match demand? Probably not.

My concerns are the inequities in the amateur game.

 

[fundy]

Totally agree FD, the amateur and professional games have completely different arguments as far as equality is concerned. The professional game is open to mkt forces as a commercial enterprise, the amateur game is a different kettle of fish where anything bar total equality is outdated

 

[GB72]

To my mind, the sporting events where women receive some degree of parity in prize money etc are those that piggyback the mens events. Tennis, athletics to name a couple cna give women bigger prize funds because their events are played at the same time so can attract revenue, audiences and sponsorship.

Is there an argument for the LPGA events to mirror the mens events and play either immediately before or after on the same course or at the same time on a nearby one and tie in the overall TV Coverage. Not sure how the southern gentlemen at Augusta would take to having a ladies Masters though.