Difference in money---Kraft Nabisco vs. Houston

[PEZGolf]

First, let us give "credit where credit is due". In today's "USA Today", the article on the Kraft Nabisco is larger and takes precedence over the Houston tournament. That is proper since the former is a Major, and the latter is not.

Now, let us look at the pay checks:

Paul Casey---over $1,000,000

Brittany Lincicome--$300,000

Boy, the LPGA Tour is not able to narrow that gap---actually, it is a chasm! Carolyn Bivens, the LPGA Tour Commissioner and her staff, are trying to get an improvement, but the economy has dealt them a setback, as they lost 5 tournaments. The PGA Tour is "holding their own".

BOTTOM LINE: people would rather watch the men than the women, and the number of spectators, TV exposure, and advertising revenue reflect that difference.

[David in FL]

BOTTOM LINE: people would rather watch the men than the women, and the number of spectators, TV exposure, and advertising revenue reflect that difference.

Yep......that about sums it up.

[Lemay427]

Ummmm ya. This is pretty apparent. LPGA golf is second tier.

[DonW]

I hear you, but I try to watch the LPGA and find it difficult to find them on TV, the coverage seems to jump all over the dial, I feel they need a deal with one or two stations to gain some consistency in vewership. For a little perspective from the 90s, when we had a local LPGA event my wife and I would attend and found the leaders highly skilled, but the also rans that filled out the field would post some horrific scores. I paticulary remember one hole that required a second shot of 80 to 120 yards to the green, 50 yards of this was over water and many put more than one ball in the creek when confronted with this challenge. Thankfully the level of play seems more uniform throughout the field now a days. The vast majority had no interaction with fans what so ever, by comparison the Seniors at our local Champions event would joke and sign autographs when time allowed several would come out and mingle with fans after completing their round.

I'm getting old, it doesn't seem that many years ago the PGA million dollars in one year earnings barrier was broken, now they are collecting that in one event. If we don't turn our economy around soon I'm betting we will see a lot more media attacking the money amounts awarded at PGA events.

[NorCalGolfer]

The LPGA money earnings are based on their putting. lol

[Prairie Golfer]

In 1989 Juli Inkster won the Dinah Shore and earned $80,000. Mike Sullivan won the Houston Open the same week and got $144,000. The next week Nick Faldo beat Scott Choke in the Masters and won $200,000. It seems the gap has grown a bit.

[NM Golf]

Some other people hit the nail on the head, people just don't watch women's golf as much as men's. It's true in all professional sports, The men outearn the women big time. More TV and advertising means bigger paychecks. IMHO women's sporting events are kinda boring, its like watching men but on 1/2 speed.

Also, I know some people won't agree, but it's obvious to me that the LPGA is also hurting because of the lack of American talent on tour, or at least english speaking talent. The Korean explosion on the LPGA Tour may be increasing viewership in Korea, but its hurting the American audience. That was quite evident last year when the LPGA tried to make them all learn English. Too many winners on the LPGA Tour doing their post round interviews through an interpreter.

[Shorty]

First, let us give "credit where credit is due". In today's "USA Today", the article on the Kraft Nabisco is larger and takes precedence over the Houston tournament. That is proper since the former is a Major, and the latter is not.

A lot of people find it hard to swallow thte idea that a major is called the "Kraft Nabisco". Imagine if The Masters was known as the Payless Discount or the PGA known as the Panasonic Electrical.

Doesn't have the right ring to it.

[PEZGolf]

In 1989 Juli Inkster won the Dinah Shore and earned $80,000. Mike Sullivan won the Houston Open the same week and got $144,000. The next week Nick Faldo beat Scott Choke in the Masters and won $200,000. It seems the gap has grown a bit.

You are right, and it makes no sense. As Dottie Pepper and others have said, the LPGA has a "golden opportunity" to market itself with young stars like Paula, Natalie, Cristie, Laura Diaz, Brittany Lincicome, Erica Blasberg, Suzann Pettersen, etc. And yet, the purses are dropping, the TV exposure has not improved, the TV ratings are still low, and the number of tournaments has dropped by 5. Why? This question is directed to Carolyn Bivens, Commissioner of the LPGA Tour.

[pittpanther]

...the LPGA has a "golden opportunity" to market itself with young stars like Paula, Natalie, Cristie, Laura Diaz, Brittany Lincicome, Erica Blasberg, Suzann Pettersen, etc.

Come on! Do you really think we're that shallow? Just because the players are better-looking doesn't mean I am going to tune in to watch.

If the WNBA was populated with models, would you watch consistently? I don't think so. Notice that in tennis, the women are arguably more popular than the men. So it's not true that mens sports always out-draw the ladies. And I would say that the golf ladies look better than the tennis girls (in general!), so again the viewing public is not so shallow to just tune in based on looks.

[PEZGolf]

Come on! Do you really think we're that shallow? Just because the players are better-looking doesn't mean I am going to tune in to watch.

Not just good looks, although I find them attractive. They can play the game well, and their swings are better models for me to imitate. My clubhead speed with a driver is 92 mph. The men on the PGA Tour have swing speeds between 120 and 140, I believe. Some of them go "all out", whereas the gals swing smoothly and in balance.

I have said this before, but it is worth repeating: when Bobby Jones was asked who had the best golf swing he ever saw, he answered "Joyce Wethered". When Ben Hogan was asked the same question, his answer was "Mickey Wright". If those two thought that highly of women golfers, I can imitate them and watch the women as well, and learn from them.

[NorCalGolfer]

If the WNBA was populated with models, would you watch consistently? I don't think so.

Uhhh..If the WNBA was populated with models, you bet your ass I'd watch. I might even invest!

And you are out of your mind if you think those heffers on the links are better looking than the female tennis players. Ana Ivanovic? Anna Kournakova? Maria Sharapova? That's just to name a few. There are PLENTY of hot female tennis players...

[pittpanther]

And you are out of your mind if you think those heffers on the links are better looking than the female tennis players. Ana Ivanovic? Anna Kournakova? Maria Sharapova? That's just to name a few. There are PLENTY of hot female tennis players...

Ivanovic, Sharapova, and Serena, if you're not scared of a big girl. Other than that...the quality drops off pretty quickly.