JERSEY CITY, NJ.—Before cigarette commercials were banned, the tobacco company Virginia Slims ingeniously came forward in 1968 with a marketing campaign advocating for women to assert themselves.
The tagline “you’ve come a long way baby” encouraged women to have their collective voices heard by asserting a clear independence from a male-centric world.
When Title IX was passed as federal law in 1972, a new springboard was put in place, and women’s athletics received a long overdue increase in funding.
Fast forward to more recent times, and one now sees the fruits of that labor. Women’s sports have grown dramatically and are not just tied to a once-in-four-years boost when the Olympics are held. Women are being seen more frequently on television and in a range of specific platforms. Basketball, soccer, tennis—even professional wrestling and extreme fighting are in the mix.
But where is women’s professional golf?
Good question.
U.S. network television opportunities remain limited, and much of the exposure is coming solely through the Golf Channel.
Internally, the Ladies Professional Golfers Association (LPGA) is finalizing the hire of a new commissioner. The most recent—Mollie Marcoux Samaan—served from 2021 to 2024. She left on Jan. 9, 2025, and Liz Moore, the LPGA’s chief legal and technology officer, is serving as interim commissioner.
Before being hired, Marcoux Samaan was the athletic director for Princeton University. The fit of the previous commissioner was not in total sync with what the needs of the LPGA are now.
The LPGA came into existence in 1950 via 13 pioneers who boldly laid the foundation. Total purses for 2025 are $131 million spread across 33 official events. In comparison, the PGA Tour’s total purse amount is just over $400 million with 39 tournaments.
One other key point—the five majors in women’s pro golf have a total purse of $47.8 million—representing over a third of the total. That leaves even less money for the rest of the LPGA events. In sum, men’s and women’s professional golf operate at a financial gap wider than the Grand Canyon.
The abundance of junior developmental programs with a female focus has provided a significant boost. Girls represent 38 percent of all golfers under 18, up from 14 percent when the NGF started tracking participation in 1986.
Planting the seeds for future expansion in the women’s category is now the chief emphasis, and that was the topic of conversation at this week’s press conference for the upcoming May LPGA event—the Mizuho Americas Open—to be played at Liberty National Golf Club (May 8-11) in New Jersey, a facility that overlooks the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.
On hand to welcome the assembled participants was 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champion and Mizuho Americas brand ambassador and tournament host Michelle Wie West. The 35-year-old Wie West started golf as a highly touted child prodigy and even competed in specific men’s pro events with limited success.
The link between current and future stars is the central dimension for the Mizuho Americas Open. Eight of the world’s top 10 female pro golfers will be in the field, with defending champion and world No. 1 player Nelly Korda headlining the field.
In tandem with the professional is a junior component—24 of the top juniors in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) will be competing simultaneously with the concurrent AJGA Invitational—a groundbreaking format that creates an unprecedented week of education, membership, and access to further inspire the next generation of LPGA Tour players.
But public attendance for a number of LPGA events has been sparse. Some of that is tied to perplexing schedule situations. In 2023, no less than four events were played in the small state of New Jersey.
There is also the reality that when women’s pro golf is scheduled in major markets like New York, the sheer clutter from other sports teams and cultural events means a far less visible impact. In the Big Apple, the Yankees and Mets are now playing, and the Knicks are in the playoffs. In New Jersey, the Devils have clinched a spot in the NHL playoffs.
But a possible uptick for future enhanced awareness was also announced this week.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board approved the addition of a mixed-team golf event, which will debut at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and complement the men’s and women’s individual competitions. All three events will be at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
The mixed-team event will be contested as a 36-hole competition—18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) for the first round, followed by 18 holes of four-ball (best ball) for the final round. There will be a maximum of one team per country, with teams made up of one male and one female who are already qualified for the individual competitions.
The mixed-team event will take place after the four-round men’s competition, and prior to the four-round women’s competition. The addition of the mixed-team event marks the first Olympic golf team competition since the 1904 Games.
The global exposure of Olympic golf might push countries that have not shown much interest in the sport to start doing so.
Ultimately, women’s pro golf needs a superstar player who can raise its profile. Unfortunately, for the LPGA, they don’t grow on trees. Ditto for the PGA Tour in having to go forward without the active presence of Tiger Woods. Korda, while clearly talented, has not been able to strike a commercial nerve with a broader audience outside the narrow women’s pro golf lane.
Wie West could have been that transcendent superstar, but injuries and a plateauing of her talent caused her impact to wither and eventually had her retire from active competition in tandem with a desire to start a family with husband Jonnie West, son of former Los Angeles Laker great Jerry West.
The good news is that the pipeline for future players is now widening. At the Mizuho event, there will be a DrivHer Summit in collaboration with philanthropic partner Girls Inc. In addition to their commitment to Girls Inc., Mizuho is launching the A Name Worth Knowing award, which provides a Liberty National grant to a female AJGA golfer who is either from the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) or attending a school in the region.
The tournament also plans to host the inaugural Breaking Barriers Summit, in collaboration with Front Office Sports. This women’s leadership conference will be headlined by Wie West and will take place on May 8 with morning programming featuring top executives and athletes, followed by a golf clinic hosted by Wie West.
A lasting liftoff for women’s professional golf is beginning to take shape, but the prospect of success remains uncertain. Barriers in golf still exist. It’s expensive to play, access to facilities can be tight, and getting quality instruction early on is difficult.
Yes, seeds have been planted—will they now germinate?
Women’s professional golf has come a long way since that 1968 commercial, but it still has miles to go.
