Yes, Nelly Korda should be the “Nelly Korda of Golf” – I know it, you know it, but the rest of the sports world doesn’t know it yet. We need to add some Caitlin Clark magic to women’s golf because Korda and the rest of the LPGA players deserve the visibility and opportunity to grow their fandom.
We all watched Clark’s final collegiate season, her WNBA draft and her first (pre-season) game in an Indiana Fever jersey. Her popularity meant prime access to those TV airings, and her GOAT status – and fanbase – continues to grow. She is chipping away at the vicious cycle women’s sports are in, and we’ll likely see increased investment in women’s basketball in the coming years thanks to the visibility she’s brought to the sport.
So, let’s make this happen in women’s golf, too.
Korda has accomplished the near impossible and won five LPGA Tour events in a row, including the Chevron Championship, her second major. Unfortunately, her historic win, which now has her sharing a record with golf legends Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez, was not airing live on Golf Channel because they switched to PGA Tour Champions coverage.
The Golf Channel falls under the NBCUniversal umbrella, so while it was great that there was some TV streaming of Korda’s win on NBC, it’s still disappointing that such a momentous occasion wasn’t a priority for what many consider the home of golf TV – the Golf Channel.
NBC did capture Korda’s win live, but they did not show Korda’s now-famous cannonball into the pond, a beloved tradition most golf fans would know thanks to 30+ years of winning leaps made at Poppie’s Pond in Rancho Mirage, Calif., when the major was hosted by ANA Inspiration. Lilia Vu brought the tradition to Texas after winning the Chevron Championship last year, the major’s first time being played at The Club at Carlton Woods.
With her attempt to make ultimate golf history and win her sixth event in a row this week at the Cognizant Founders Cup, Korda deserves the TV spotlight now more than ever. While we appreciate that viewers can watch part of the final round on CNBC (from 3:00-5:00pm ET), women’s golf has still been relegated to the encore hour at Golf Channel, starting at 7:00pm ET on Thursday and Friday and even later at 8:00pm ET on Saturday and Sunday.
Imagine having to watch Rory McIlroy finally win the Masters in a late-night replay – there would be a riot. Korda’s run at the record deserves the same reverence. Let’s give her the platform and fanbase she and the sport both deserve.
