Last Sunday, I sat on the couch with two options on the golf calendar.
The men were playing in the Memorial, a popular PGA Tour event on a famous course. Almost any other week, I would have chosen to watch that tournament.
Instead, I moved on to the US Women’s Open.
Why? There were two reasons that immediately came to mind.
- Nelly Korda, the eventual winner, was in the mix. Korda is the clear number 1 player in the world. She is American and looks like a real person. Her ability is undeniable, and watching greatness fulfill itself is deeply satisfying in any sport.
- Riviera CC. The tournament was being played in an iconic venue, one that rarely hosts a major. We were also seeing the Riv in late spring where it was much stronger than the Genesis Invitational in February. It’s an amazing course.
I was richly rewarded for my decision.
The golf was phenomenal. Korda struggled in a crowded table where several players had a legitimate chance to win. Her clutch birdie putt on the par-5 17th enabled her to par the final hole – her first shot from within three feet barely missed the left lip and curled up – and gave her a one-shot victory over an entertaining Charley Hull and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez.
It was a fascinating tour. Korda was desperate to win our national open, her fourth major title. It took all her determination to pull it off.
Now, there is a very real possibility that Korda, about to turn 28, could take all five major women’s titles. And there are three more major opportunities on the table this year (Korda also won the first major of the year, the Chevron Championship).
All of this is exciting for me.
It made me wonder why I rarely tune in to watch women’s golf.
Sure, I can log in to check the diplomas. I have a rudimentary understanding of who the best players are and what their personalities are like.
But this US Women’s Open was just as exciting as a men’s main event.
Why don’t men like me see women’s golf more often?
I find this conversation fascinating because there are so many factors at play.
Here’s what I’ll list as the reasons why I automatically change the channel to men instead of women.
- Player/Course Recognition. This is a big one. I know all the characters in the men’s game, including all the places they play. The fact that I’m a Riviera fan made watching the US Women’s Open a lot easier, to be honest. I know the holes. And seeing how they play differently for women is interesting to me.
- General fan interest. When more people are interested in the product, it makes it easier to see and write. When there are big tournaments without a lot of support from fans in person and social media isn’t buzzing with feedback, it makes it a little harder to be a part of the ecosystem. That wasn’t so much the case last weekend, where fan support seemed overwhelming both in person and virtually.
- Transmission. While a major broadcast like the US Women’s Open had some significance to it, I find myself a little offended at the level of mediocrity with women’s golf broadcasts in general. I watched a bit of the Chevron Championship, the first major of the year, and it was absolutely dead. You would have thought you were watching a typical LPGA Tour event. Morgan Pressel is completely inaudible. Mel Reid is fantastic although we seem to get a lot more from Pressel. I’m not just talking about the commentary, though: there’s less shot tracking, less storytelling, less cool graphics, less drone footage. All of this matters. Once again, I’m referring more to a standard broadcast of women’s golf and some of the more unfortunate majors than last weekend.
- The motivation of the story. OK, why should I care? Korda is a big reason, but this is a fairly recent development in terms of its dominance. She had a great 2024, but went winless in 2025. And I don’t mean to be cruel, but the sheer parity in women’s golf makes it seem like we’re getting a ton of big, faceless winners. There are so many seemingly random winners at the biggest events. It’s kind of crazy. The greatness of the Chord makes me absolutely more likely to tune in.
Here are some of the reasons that may seem true on the surface, but are false:
- The way men play is more exciting to watch. I don’t think this is true. While I find myself saying this to myself with some women’s sports compared to men’s, I almost never think this about golf. These women are extremely talented. The quality of golf is very high.
- Men are closer. I don’t think that’s true either. In fact, it’s the opposite. The average man should model their game after these LPGA Tour players (who would absolutely destroy any male amateur with a scratch). Their swing speed/pace, their mechanics, their ability to keep the ball in front of them … we should all aspire to match them. Let’s be honest – my game has more in common with Nasa Hataoka than Dustin Johnson.
I will be watching more women’s golf this year
After this past weekend, I’m feeling a little inspired to tune into women’s golf more often.
I’m not promising to be on top of it every week, but I want to be more involved. I also want to write about women’s golf more often.
I’m here to talk about topics that interest golf fans. I haven’t written much about women’s golf because it doesn’t seem like most of our audience is interested. If people are interested, let’s talk about it.
I think it would be fantastic if there was an increase in support for women’s golf.
What are your thoughts? Let me know below in the comments.
Top Photo Caption: Nelly Korda reacts after winning the US Women’s Open. (GETTY IMAGES/Brenton Tse)
