During the first five days, LPGA week at Annika achieve the short-term goal.
Joy. Impressions. chatter
The week began with a relatively packed press conference for 18-year-old Kai Trump, the granddaughter of President Donald Trump, who was on the course thanks to a sponsor invitation from the Doyle Family, which owns Pelican Golf Club. there there are two ways to look at Trump’s invitation. She is the 461st junior golfer in the world and has never used it in a USGA event. Given the stakes of the penultimate event on the schedule, Trump doesn’t deserve a spot in the field. She has LPGA aspirations and will play collegiately at the University of Miami, but it was clear this week would be a massive step up in competition for her – one that would almost certainly end in high scores and a missed cut. But Trump’s invitation was aimed at a different number — her more than 8 million social media followers. And if her brief stop at the Pelican provided the kind of attention that could help the LPGA break through to a different audience, isn’t it worth a swing?
;)
Josh Schrock
Once Trump’s participation announced, Annika became the kind of conversation-driving event the LPGA needs to find a way to recreate itself regularly without a celebrity on the field. That was the idea.
WNBA star Caitlin Clark’s comeback appearance at Wednesday’s pro-am brought even more views, both in person and on social media.
By date taken by Beth Ann Nichols of GolfweekClark’s pro-am appearance generated 2,693 posts on X, which led to 241,704 engagements and 18,325,849 impressions. The tournament’s Instagram account saw a 591 percent increase in views year over year. At the venue, there were crowds several rows deep trying to catch a glimpse of the WNBA superstar alongside Nelly Korda. The crowds weren’t as large as for Clark’s pro-am appearance in 2024, but the gravitational pull of her star power was still evident as she smiled and laughed through nine holes as she worked on her improved game.
“I think it just goes to show how powerful the supporting women can be,” Clark said during a walk-and-talk with Golf Channel during the pro-am. “I’ve always been a big advocate of that, to support women’s sports. And I’ve always been a big fan of golf or soccer or volleyball or whatever it is.”
“It’s amazing that she’s in women’s golf and wants to come out here and put the spotlight on us, and at the event and at this tournament,” Schmelzel told Golf Channel on Wednesday. “I think it’s a great day for women’s sport in general.”
This entered Trump’s opening round, where she surprisingly battled his way to a 13-over-par 83 that was not televised. Trump shot a second-round 75 on Friday, part of which was televised, and finished six shots dead. At the same time Friday, Korda was making an electric move on the leaderboard that had LeBron James tweeting. All online chats and impressions are a win. The LPGA needs to make changes to try to increase its popularity.
;)
Kai Trump’s opening 83 in her LPGA debut serves as a powerful reminder
Michael Bamberger
But as the weekend at Annika began with a packed leaderboard and Clark and Trump in the background, bigger questions arose: What was the LPGA’s plan to retain the new eyes it won from Clark and Trump? Social media impressions and views are good. But new commissioner Craig Kessler and the LPGA must come up with a strategy to take advantage of them by getting them to come back to see Korda and other tour stars, and not just parachute in for a few days each year at Annika or wherever they create a celebrity incentive. Clark and Trump gave the LPGA a bigger spotlight, but neither is the antidote to the long-term, progressive growth the tour seeks. What Kessler and the LPGA need to do is develop a long-term strategy to increase the sport’s popularity and viewership, from improved television windows to getting its biggest stars to play a bigger role in promoting and moving the tour forward.
From a micro perspective, Trump’s invitation was a chance worth taking. But would the stares she gave after two days in which she shot 158 ​​hold? No, and especially not without a concrete plan to convince the non-LPGA audience to stick around. This type of plan takes time, trial and error to perfect.
This is the long game for Kessler and the LPGA. That is why they signed a partnership agreement with Saudi Golf and why they are is said to be moving the Chevron championship spot on a more accessible course.
Annika’s week, still rolling with a star-studded leaderboard, wasn’t over when Trump left Friday after an LPGA reality check. But the hype, eyeballs and chatter provided by Clark and Trump quickly dissipated, leaving only the biggest questions the LPGA needs to address — ones that Clark and Trump can’t answer.
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