Popularity Of LPGA On The Rise

 Staff Photo Michael Woods • @NWAMICHAELW Jessica Korda shoots for the No. 3 green Friday afternoon during the first round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers.
Staff Photo Michael Woods • @NWAMICHAELW Jessica Korda shoots for the No. 3 green Friday afternoon during the first round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers.

ROGERS -- Stacy Lewis always draws big crowd at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

It's clear the former Arkansas women's golfer and current No. 1 player on the LPGA Tour is adored by the Hog Calls that echo around her at nearly every hole.

Race To The CME Globe

Through 14 events

  1. Stacy Lewis^3094

  2. Michelle Wie^2503

  3. Anna Nordqvist^1763

  4. Inbee Park^1653

  5. Lexi Thompson^1643

  6. Lydia Ko^1628

  7. Karrie Webb^1592

  8. Azahara Munoz^1391

  9. Paula Creamer^1285

  10. Jessica Korda^1270

Her story is a microcosm of the health of the LPGA as a whole. The Tour is as healthy and prosperous as it's ever been, largely thanks to stars like Lewis and Michelle Wie, a re-invigorated schedule and an embracing of the global nature of the game.

It's all led to more prize money, more tournaments and higher television ratings.

"This past weekend at the U.S. Open, television ratings were the highest rated LPGA telecast in seven years for Sunday and eight years overall for the weekend average," said Jon Podany, LPGA Chief Marketing Officer. "We were ahead of the PGA tour by 40 percent last weekend."

That's no small feat, and one that was hardly expected given the status of the LPGA Tour just four years ago.

Podany arrived in early 2010 after his friend Mike Whan was named commissioner. The Tour was practically a train wreck. Former commissioner Carolyn Bivens had been forced out just eight months earlier and the Tour schedule was down to just 24 events from 34 in 2008.

The retirement of the world's top-ranked player, Lorena Ochoa, after the 2010 season left the players' field wide open, but without any clear fan-favorite. The group of Americans now known for being among the most popular -- Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Wie and Lewis -- had yet to peak. Foreign stars such as Na Yeon Choi, Yani Tseng and Suzann Pettersen were not being widely marketed.

But in just four years the LPGA has managed to bring its total purse money in 2014 to more than $56 million and build its Tour stops back to 32. The Race to the CME Globe, introduced over the winter, has increased interest across the board, too.

The Race is a season-long points competition culminating at the CME Group Tour Championship at the end of the season, where the winning player will be eligible to win two purses and two trophies. The points leader will capture the Race to the CME Globe title and a $1 million payout -- the biggest in all of women's golf. The winner of the tournament itself will be at the top of a $2 million purse.

Tour mainstay Juli Inkster, who began her LPGA career in 1983, has seen the good and bad times more than any other golfer. She thinks Whan and Podany will only continue to grow the game.

"It's a global game. Just look at our Tour to see that," Inkster said. "It's great. Every year it's growing."

While the previous regime shied away from pushing foreign stars and foreign tournaments to the main stage, the new era of the Tour embraces it. A week ago the top five golfers in the points standings were from five different countries. And it's not the same audience, Podany said, as it was even a couple years ago. Americans are more keen to see non-American stars at the top of the leaderboards.

"We think we have to have an American star, but for a long time the biggest names in our sport were Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa," Podany said. "It helps if they're American, but I think the world is more of a melting pot and we are at the forefront at that in terms of what our represents and I think we're in good shape."

Podany doesn't anticipate much more growth in the tournament schedule.

"You get beyond 33, 34, the players are going to have to take some weeks off and more and more tournaments are going to look at their field and say 'Hmm, where's Paula? Where's Michelle? Where's Lydia Ko?,'" Podany said.

Continued growth of the global sponsors and increased purse prizes is a goal.

That's exactly why CME came aboard.

"I think it's fair to say we took into account the potential of the LPGA," said Anita Liskey, managing director corporate marketing and communications at CME. "Our positive experiences with the changes they made to the management, it seemed like a good time to make a more formal, bigger partnership."

While Lewis won't be greeted by "Pig Sooie" chants too often after this week, she'll still have plenty of opportunities to showcase why she's the No. 1 player in the world. Much of it thanks to Podany and Whan.

Sports on 06/28/2014

Upcoming Events