AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2006 > April > 22 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USLPGA stuck as niche sport
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
My first assignment at my first LPGA tournament —the year was 1984, the site Brookfield West in Roswell, the event the oddly named Potamkin Cadillac Classic — was to write about the new wave on tour. I interviewed four women who were seen as rising stars — Juli Inkster, Chris Johnson, Laurie Rinker and Lauri Peterson — and how they were about to transform the LPGA. Well, Inkster turned out to be a really splendid player and the other three less so, but here it is 22 years later and the talk around the circuit is …
The new wave of players about to transform the LPGA.
And I wish I could say I believe it. But I don’t really. I wish I could say I foresaw growth on an exponential scale for the tour I’ve always preferred to (editorial comment here) the snooty PGA, but I’ve covered too many women’s tournaments over too many years and seen too few fans and detected too little mainstream interest.
I wish it were different. I wish there was a way the LPGA could get big because people like watching women play golf against other women. I wish an LPGA golfer could become a household name without feeling the need to pose in a bathing suit. More than anything, I wish the LPGA could grow out of the niche it has occupied these last two decades.
There was a time in the late ’70s when, in the wake of Nancy Lopez’s advent, women’s golf seemed as big a deal as men’s, but the moment faded. And now, when the average fan is asked to recall a female player of a certain vintage, the first thought is of Jan Stephenson, who famously smiled for a calendar shot from a bathtub filled with golf balls, and not Pat Bradley, who won roughly twice as many events as Stephenson.
The LPGA’s latest swimsuit wearer is Natalie Gulbis, and she, as you’d guess, is tall and blond. What you might not know is that Gulbis is fifth on the money list and third in scoring average. You might not know that because — let’s face it — not that many guys care all that much about how Natalie Gulbis plays her sport. And that’s a shame.
Sherri Turner, 49, is in her 23rd year on tour. She has been around long enough to grasp that many of the concerns facing the LPGA in 1984, her rookie season, are the ones facing it today. (How to get bigger, how much skin to show, et cetera.) “I’ve kind of made it a point to keep my mouth shut,” she said Saturday after shooting a 9-under-par 63 at the oddly named Florida’s Natural Charity Championship. “But these are a lot of the same issues.”
Turner doesn’t begrudge Gulbis her swimsuit and her reality TV series. “If I looked like Natalie, I’d be doing the same thing,” she said. But here Turner touched on the bigger picture, which is that an LPGA player cannot hope to get famous simply by playing well on the tour. “The percentage of good young players is much larger [than in 1984], and especially with the Asian girls, it’s tough to separate themselves.”
Michelle Wie, who isn’t playing at Eagle’s Landing, has separated herself not by immersing herself in the LPGA but by flitting between women’s and men’s events. “I don’t like that,” Turner said. “I was a little leery when Annika [Sorenstam] did it, but she was at the top of her game and she did it once to learn from it. … I would like to see Michelle take a different route. I like the route [rookie] Morgan Pressel has taken.”
I wish I could envision a day when Morgan Pressel — or Michelle Wie, for that matter — was as big a star as Tiger Woods, but the cold truth is that even the transcendent Sorenstam remains known more for her two cut-missing rounds on the men’s tour in 2003 than for any of the 67 events she has won.
And if you care to argue with that, please note: Sorenstam goes into today’s final round with a chance to win her 68th tournament, but you won’t be able to watch her pursuit on TV. This event isn’t being televised. In a world where even college baseball and arena football gets aired, the sport graced by the most dominant athlete in North American sports couldn’t find a carrier this weekend. How shameful is that?
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: Golf, Mark Bradley
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By Ben
April 22, 2006 09:16 PM | Link to this
LPGA is one of the few women’s sports that I can watch for more than 5 minutes. I may watch the last hole on Sunday, but that is about it. For the most part, women’s sports is like watching grass grow… very boring.
By JOHNPAUL
April 22, 2006 10:37 PM | Link to this
WELL,I ENJOY WATCHING GOLF PERIOD. IF YOU LOVE THE SPORT LIKE I DO, IT DOESNT MATTER WHO IS BEHIND THE 3IRON, MEN OR WOMEN. I ADMIT, I ENJOY WATCHING TIGER, MORE THAN THE WOMEN, BUT THE LPGA HAS A FUTURE, IT JUST NEEDS A MICHELLE WEI TO BE THE FEMALE TIGER, TO BRING THE LPGA TO MAIN STREAM AMERICA. BUT THE MAIN REASON I WATCH, IS THE WOMEN’S GAME IS CLOSER TO MOST WEEKEND PLAYER GAME, THAN THE BIG BOYS IN THE PGA.
By James
April 22, 2006 10:55 PM | Link to this
Lay off the Caps!!!
By Michael
April 22, 2006 11:44 PM | Link to this
Nice to see a columnist give love to a sport that’s not one of the “big 4”, let alone a women’s sport. Women’s golf is probably the most enjoyable sport compared to its mens counterpart because aside from driving length it’s pretty much the same. If you miss long drives, watch Happy Gilmore. You usually find fewer prima donnas in women’s sports too. See the US women’s national soccer team for proof. It would be nice if these sports could get more mainstream notice (how many Barry Bonds at-bat updates do we need?) but I’m not totally hating the FHM posing!
By Jim A.
April 23, 2006 12:19 AM | Link to this
Having taken up golf just a couple of years ago, I admit that I enjoy watching the women play because their swings are so well designed and I can learn from watching them, whereas I will never be able to swing like Tiger or Phil. But, then, I enjoy watching quality golf. and Sorenstam and the young guns play some beautiful golf.
By Paul Dumbravo
April 23, 2006 07:58 AM | Link to this
I have been playing golf for 30 years. I truly appreciate watching a talented golfer excel at their sport. The women on tour today show as much (if not more)talent and competitive spirit than any male golfer (outside of Tiger) and are a credit to the sport. As long as we live in a male dominated society, women’s sports will never get their due.
By Don M
April 23, 2006 11:31 AM | Link to this
Sorry to disagree, but among golfers I believe the women’s names and talents are very well known. But unless we can see them play, with decent commentary, how are they expected to build interest? The TV converage — and face it, that’s where the action is for money or fans — stinks! When was the last event televised? And the question is whether that’s a product of fan support, or new leadership handling of the media by LPGA leadership?
By Al Rizzo
April 23, 2006 01:29 PM | Link to this
I really enjoy the LPGA and I’m frustrated that every week I’m searching for the TV outlet that particular week, for example, this week it’s not being televised anywhere, what gives??
By jim laughlin
April 23, 2006 03:14 PM | Link to this
I played 8 years in the NFL and big-time college football and baseball so I understand a little about sports. Women’s sports will never get their due is correct. But who cares!! And no Mark it’s not “shameful” it’s just the way the market works. I’m no mysogynist but girls play like girls and always will. I appreciate their skill and competitiveness. (they could whip me all day long- but never hit it as long as I, and therein lies the problem-it’s second rate-just like all women’s sports) But I (and most sportfans-men) don’t really care to waste my life watching it (along with most garbage on TV) because it’s just not the great spectacle as the PGA or NFL or MLB or NBA or college sports can be. Never has been, never will be-just like soccer in the US. Quite expecting to make averything equal and saying it’s “just not right” and unfair. Not trying to be mean-spirited just realistic. I always hoped to have a daughter who I would have encouraged to compete in all sports; but would never have expected or told her she could be just as good, or as famous, or compensated as handsomely as the men. That’s just the way it is and always will be and that’s just fine.
By Dean
April 23, 2006 05:50 PM | Link to this
Watching women’s golf really helps me on the weekends. I start watching it, and I always end up taking a much-needed NAP. Thanks, ladies!
By Frosty
April 23, 2006 06:36 PM | Link to this
I’m a single digit male golfer and I love watching the women. They play the game more like I do. It’s too bad all their event aren’t on TV.
By martha
April 24, 2006 08:38 AM | Link to this
The sad truth is that the women’s game isn’t very good. If you’re only going to watch one golf event per weekend, are you going to watch the best (PGA) or the not-nearly-the-best (LPGA)? The LPGA is probably talent-wise comparable to men’s college golf, and nobody pays attention to men’s college golf either. There’re a lot of sports out there and the public has a limited interest capacity. There simply isn’t that much interest available for the LPGA.